


Knight of Vein

by Avernon



Category: Code Vein (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Drama, Blood and Violence, Bonding, F/M, Friendship, From Duty to Love, One-Sided Attraction, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Violence, semi canon divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24097978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avernon/pseuds/Avernon
Summary: The Gaol of Mists is in turmoil. Revenants struggle to stave off their thirst and stay alive while the Lost and miasma encroach on them. Blood beads grow scarce and the so called warriors begin to turn on each other or worse join the hordes of Lost. Yet even during this dire time, hope remains. A new power rises to match the growing darkness. Will it be enough? Will this so called knight be able to combat the growing struggle in Vein?
Relationships: Io/Protagonist (Code Vein), Past Louis/Cruz
Comments: 18
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Code Vein or the characters.
> 
> Hey everyone! So I picked up Code Vein during this little pandemic going on and I love it. I actually picked up this game and God Eater 3 but the latter feels more like a place for small stories than large ones. This story came to me around the end of my first playthrough. 
> 
> It will follow the plot for the most part but I will be changing some things. It's not a true canon-divergent story but things will be different. 
> 
> Anyway have fun and enjoy!

Nothingness was all a youth felt. He did not see or feel anything for what felt like eternity. He felt so sleepy and yet he could not fall asleep, like he was stuck in a type of daze.

Then as if something was waiting for him, he saw light. He didn’t wince though despite the fact that he had seen darkness for so long.

“Hello?” 

“…what?” the youth found his voice and he felt the haze he was under begin to subside. 

“At last you have begun to awaken…” the voice he heard was distinctly female and also gentle but he could sense power in it as well. 

“What? What’s happening?” he asked the voice. 

“Forgive me. It has been some time since you have been awake. Lets start with who you are. Do you remember your name?” 

His name? What…what was his name? 

He thought hard for a few moments before his name finally came through. At least he hoped it was his name…

“Cecil…my name is Cecil. I don’t remember a last name.” He responded. The voice let out a small giggle in response. 

“That is indeed your name. A fine one at that.” She found his name funny? No…there was a deeper meaning behind his name perhaps? But what was it? He could barely even recall what it was let alone what his name had attached to it. 

“Now do you remember how you look?” the voice asked next. He blinked as a mirror appeared in front of him, showing him a reflection of himself.

Cecil was a young man who seemed to have just entered adulthood. He stood at about six foot one with a somewhat slim but built form. He had slightly messy white hair but his bangs were parted in an almost unkempt way. His eyes were ruby red and his skin was a bit pale like he was sick yet he felt just fine. 

His clothing consisted of an outfit that covered his entire body from neck to toe. He had black pants with boots and a white shirt and a black coat. Then he had a grey jacket covering all of that but it was a bit tattered. He also had some kind of brace around his neck and jawline like something was supposed to be there. 

“Yes, that’s how you look.” The voice spoke again as the mirror disappeared. 

The light Cecil saw began to coalesce into a type of stone platform that was a bit ornate in design. The background became a type of grey haze with nothing else beyond the platform but that was fine since there was someone waiting for him on it. 

The person was a young woman who couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old. She was fairly short compared to him, probably standing at five foot six or so. She was a little thin but not unhealthy. She had tanned skin with red eyes. Her hair was pale blonde, styled neatly and hung down her back to her waist while some of it was draped over her shoulder. She was wearing what looked like a hospital gown over black leggings and what he assumed was some kind of top. Her hands were covered in gloves and she had white bandages wrapped around her wrists as well. 

“Hello.” She greeted, she held the same voice that he was hearing before. 

“We finally meet.” She smiled at him and Cecil blinked at the kindness in her tone.

“Hello…” he greeted hesitantly. Then she started giggling and he tilted his head at her in confusion.

“Sorry. Its just you said that same thing before.” She said fondly and he blinked in confusion at her statement. 

“Before?” He didn’t recall meeting anyone like her before. Wait…actually he couldn’t recall much of anything besides his name. 

“Oh…I’m sorry.” He blinked at the sorrowful tone her voice took.

“You don’t have many if any of your memories.” She spoke sadly. He frowned at the information. So this wasn’t normal? And he was supposed to know her? 

“I suppose I’ll just make the most of this then. Here I’ll explain.” She sighed before she pointed at him. 

“You are a Revenant, an immortal warrior born to protect humanity.” A revenant? That’s a rather morbid sounding title. 

“I see…what do you mean by immortal?” he asked and Cruz winced slightly. 

“Well you’re not completely immortal of course. You can take and dish out more punishment than any human but you can be killed like any other creature. What makes you immortal is you will return to life every time. You see when your human life ended, you were brought back as a revenant.” She explained and he nodded in acknowledgement. 

“Unfortunately Revenants lose parts of their memories when they return. In your case you seem to have lost all of it.” That was rather harsh. He could meet more people he was supposed to know like this woman only to not recognize them? That sounded painful to no end on both ends.

“I see…” he didn’t have much else to say on the matter. 

“What other things do I need to know about what I am?” he decided to let that go for now. She must have been having the same thought since she went on too.

“Your power comes from blood, which is your strength and weakness.” She explained and Cecil looked down at his hand for a bit before he looked back up at her. 

“Your main power comes from your blood code. Blood codes are all unique; every revenant has a different one. They grant them the ability to use their “gifts”. Like so.” She held her hand out, palm up and a spark of lightning appeared in her hand. He flinched a little at the sudden move, making her giggle again. Then he glared at her in response as she ceased but she still kept her smile up. 

“You are special though. Your blood code has been broken…or lost.” She explained and he frowned again. How did losing his source of power make him special? Sounded like he was waiting for death if that was the case. 

“How does that make me special? Wouldn’t I be a sitting duck if I lost my source of power?” he asked. She merely smiled again and pointed at him.

“What makes you unique is that you possess the ability to use multiple blood codes and all the gifts they entail.” Ok Cecil stood corrected, that sounded pretty special if blood codes were that important.

“You have three residing in you now…you’ll have to learn how to use them as time goes on. More will follow as you go along on your journey as well…” Cruz explained as she waved her hand at him. 

“How do I use my “gifts”?” Cecil asked as he placed his hand on his chest. 

“You have to feel for your power and bring it out. Think of it like how you tense a muscle but deeper. Try it out.” She pressed. 

Cecil took a small breath and decided to go for it. He tried to feel for whatever power was inside him. Obviously it was more than just tensing a muscle but he had to start somewhere. After a few moments he felt something course through his veins and he suddenly felt power course through his body like he could break something with his hands alone.

“Good…you have activated one of your gifts.” She praised. After a few moments Cecil felt the affect leave him and he felt a little tired like something was drained from him. 

“Revenants use the power of their gifts through the energy they carry, blood or ichor. Whenever you use a gift you use your ichor. It can be replenished through battle or draining it from your foes.” The woman explained and Cecil nodded in acceptance. 

“The power to use any blood code is yours alone. The only true teacher you will have is your blood and your experiences.” Fair enough. If he was the only one who could do that then he was going to have to learn what to do as he went. Not exactly comforting but it was doable. 

“You mentioned that blood was my weakness as well.” He recalled next and she nodded. 

“Yes. Revenants require blood and that is their greatest weakness. You literally feed off of blood. The need or “thirst” is something that all Revenants must live with if they are to survive.” She spoke and he tilted his head at the last part. 

“What happens if they do not “feed”?” he asked and Cruz winced again but this time it was more than just a minor discomfort on her mind since she reached up and held one of her arms. 

“If Revenants are not feed enough to sate their thirst they go into what is called “Frenzy” and lose themselves. Then they become the “Lost”.” The way she said the words made him wonder what her experience was with what she just explained. 

“It is one of the two ways a Revenant can fall for good.” She explained. 

“What’s the other way?” he asked and the woman tapped her own chest with her finger.

“Your heart. If you are pierced through your heart by a gift or a weapon then you will be gone for good. Any other lethal blow you will return from eventually.” Well that was…good. So he just had to make sure he didn’t get stabbed in the chest then. The idea of leaning into a blow just to avoid getting hit in the heart was rather appalling though. 

“And what are these “Lost” you mentioned earlier? You said Revenants will turn into them if they are not fed?” he asked. He had to learn what he could since he really had no memory of any of this. 

“Yes.” She looked sad as she spoke again. 

“The Lost are Revenants who have lost themselves. Not simply their memories or their sense of self but their humanity as well. Lost are twisted beings, shells of what they used to be. They are no longer human or revenant. They are just demonic beings that seek to kill anything that isn’t them. The worst part is that killing them does not free them. ” She explained and he took all that in slowly. 

“That’s…” gruesome? Dark? Evil? Cruel? All of the above. So if he doesn’t feed on blood he becomes a monster forever? That felt like a sick joke. 

“Horrible, I know.” That was a light way of putting it. 

“So I just make sure I’m fed and don’t get stabbed in the heart.” Simple enough, hopefully it actually was as easy as he said. 

“Heh…a simple way to look at it but yes.” She laughed again and Cecil felt a smile tug on his lips. 

“Oh I almost forgot. You are going to need to find a filtration mask for yourself. I’m afraid the air is a bit…harsh on Revenants.” She added and he nodded. That should have been simple enough, he hoped. 

“I will. Is there anything else?” the woman frowned for a bit before she lowered her eyes again.

“It’s almost time for you to go. I have another request if you don’t mind.” He blinked in surprise before he nodded slowly. 

“I want you to use your power for good...but I also want you to live.” she spoke softly. A simple request, Cecil saw nothing wrong with that. 

“I will…but first are you going to tell me your name?” he asked and her eyes widened before she flushed in embarrassment. 

“Oh! Of course! I forgot the simplest thing!” she chastised herself and Cecil smiled at the display. 

“My name is Cruz Silva.” She introduced and Cecil held his hand out to her. She stared at it for a few moments before she reached out and shook his hand. 

“Its nice to meet you Cruz. I promise I won’t forget you this time.” He smiled at her and her eyes grew moist for a bit before she giggled. 

“Silly don’t make promises you don’t know if you can keep…” 

“I won’t.” he responded firmly. Cruz smiled at him and he began to feel…tired. The world around him began to darken and he saw Cruz place her hand on her chest.

“Go and protect the world…” she spoke out as she disappeared from his sight and the darkness began to set in once again.

“…and watch over the people dear to me…dear to-” 

Those were the last words he heard before darkness took him again and he felt consciousness leave him altogether. 

\---

Cecil groaned as he felt something hard under him that was rather uncomfortable to lie on. Then he slowly opened his eyes up. 

“…” he saw the night sky and ruined buildings. He blinked again to try and clear his vision and then he saw a pale figure in his vision. When his vision cleared enough to make it out he realized it was a person. Looking over him was a young pale woman with shoulder length white hair and calm yellow eyes gazing down at him. Her expression was rather monotone but she seemed to be looking at him with concern.

“You are awake. How are you feeling?” she asked gently. 

“Like I picked the wrong place to sleep.” Cecil grunted as he moved to sit up. The woman aided him in his action until he was upright. The sight that met him was far less welcoming than the one he saw before.

“What the…” he gaped at the scene before him. He wasn’t imagining things when he saw the ruined buildings before. In fact many of them were more than ruined, they were shattered, with pieces of them missing. In fact he was lying in rubble from a building. The streets were cracked and torn up a lot as well despite being made of stone. There were also these giant black spikes impaled in the ground, glowing with some kind of yellow energy. What the heck had happened here?

“It’s okay. I don’t remember what happened here either.” The woman spoke gently. He turned to her and blinked in surprise as she stood up. 

Now that he got a good look at her, he could see she was wearing a white dress that was a bit tattered. It did nothing to hide her rather…gifted figure especially her bust. She wasn’t even wearing any footwear or gloves. She also wore a rather ornate black cloak around her shoulders with the hood over her head. Cecil couldn’t deny that she was very pretty but he noticed the bandages on her left leg and arm.

“You’re hurt.” His voice was hoarse and rough like he hadn’t used it in years, which might have been true honestly. He got the impression from Cruz that whatever happened to him must have been a while ago. 

“It is nothing. I will heal in time as all revenants do.” She threw aside his concern and he felt a little annoyed by that remark. 

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” He responded and the woman in white turned to him with calm eyes. 

“It is compared to your state.” She spoke calmly and Cecil felt pain enter his chest and his throat felt like it was on fire. It was like he hadn’t been fed in weeks.

“Ugh…” He gagged slightly as he tried to rise but it was difficult. 

“It’s ok…take it slow…” the woman in white spoke as she helped him rise to his feet. The pain in his chest alleviated slightly when he rose but not much but the dryness in his throat didn’t dissipate at all. 

“What’s happening to me?” he asked as he managed to stand on his legs but he felt weak. 

“You are plagued by the thirst. We must find you blood.” The woman in white spoke calmly. Oh right…he had to feed on blood to keep himself from turning into a monster for all eternity. He didn’t expect it to feel so harsh. 

“I know a place where you can drink. Please follow me.” She held him by his arm and gently led him along the ruined path of the city. 

“This place is a ruin.” Cecil commented as they made their way through the city. 

“Yes.” The woman replied emotionlessly as she helped him along.

“Where are we going?” he asked since she didn’t seem to be a conversing type. 

“Just ahead there is a place where we can sate your thirst.” Cecil looked ahead and focused his vision to make out a…white tree. It wasn’t just white though it was pure white, something that shouldn’t be in a place like that. 

“It is ok to take it slow…” she cautioned as she helped him limp over to the very odd looking tree. It rested right in the middle of the ruined city like a beacon almost. 

“There is nothing on it.” The woman in white commented as she helped Cecil get closer to it.

Now that he was up close, the thing looked less like a tree and more like an overgrown root. Or perhaps it was a tree that had not grown all the way up since it had no branches and the “trunk” looked like it was still growing. Though he did question how exactly this thing was grown considering it was literally in the middle of a concrete ruined city. It had come up right through the concrete like it was dirt. 

“What’s this supposed to be?” Cecil asked as the woman in white separated from him to examine the white tree. 

“It seems everyone is thirsty…” she spoke as she went over to the odd tree.

“This is a spring that weeps tears of blood. The blood is meant to sate the thirst but it seems that this one has been picked clean.” She spoke gently as she placed her hand on the tree. 

“That’s what people say anyway…” she sighed as her hand lowered. 

“I don’t see any blood…” Cecil commented lowly. The woman made an “hm” sound as she turned back towards him.

“This way please.” She beckoned. He was a little confused by her request but he didn’t refuse and approached her. 

“Very well…” he got close until he stopped when he felt a splitting headache enter his mind along with the thirst in his throat beginning to worsen. 

“Urk!” his vision began to tint red as he clutched at his throat. 

“S-Shit!” he gagged as he tried to hold himself together but he felt like he was losing his mind! Is this what Cruz meant when she said he needed to feed?

“Uh!” he began to see images flash before his eyes. 

First he saw a man wearing a coat holding his hand out to him. Like the woman though Cecil didn’t recognize him. He had his hair in a small ponytail and his bangs covered one of his eyes. A mask covered the rest of his face but Cecil could still tell he looked sad for some reason.

Another image he saw was a two handed sword being wielded by his own hands. 

Next was a woman…Cruz only she didn’t look too friendly in the image he saw. She looked…evil and her eyes were different…

“It’s ok…” the woman in white’s voice brought him out of the images. He saw her approach him but he instinctively backed away.

“No! If I’m going to lose myself you need to get away from me!” he pleaded. He didn’t know her but he didn’t want to hurt her either! 

“It’s okay…” nonetheless she was not swayed by his pleas and kept approaching him. Before he could back away further she grasped one of his arms gently and pulled it towards her. 

“Be calm…” she said gently as she raised his wrist to her mouth. Then she opened her mouth, revealing her teeth specifically her sharpened fangs. She bit into his arm, releasing his blood. 

Cecil grunted at the action but the pain in his head and throat practically blocked out the pain from her bite. He watched his blood fall onto the root of the tree and then it suddenly lit up. Light came up from the ground and swirled around the tree as wisps of light. The tree itself began to grow as well, growing actual branches. 

The air grew noticeably lighter but Cecil still felt his thirst weighing on him. Then right before his eyes he saw red pod like fruits grow from the branches. Inside the pods was a red liquid that was unmistakable, blood.

“…” the woman reached up and pulled one of the fruits from the tree and offered it to him. 

“Here. This will quench your thirst…” she said. 

Cecil didn’t hesitate and took the fruit from her and bit into it with his sharpened fangs. He probably should have felt revolted but desperation took priority. As he drank the blood he tilted his head back to sap all of the fruits contents into his body. As he drank, the red in his vision faded till it was gone and the pain he felt ebbed away until he felt normal as well. 

When he had his fill he sighed in relief. The fruit was just an empty husk in his hand now so he dropped it. Then he turned to his new companion with a small smile.

“Thank you.” He meant it too. The woman simply blinked in response as if she was confused. 

“There is no need to thank me…but you are welcome.” Her voice was still monotone but he thought he sensed some confusion in her tone. 

“I thank you nonetheless…” he said again as he stepped up to the tree and plucked another one of the fruits from the branches. 

“Do you mind telling me your name? Mine is Cecil.” He introduced.

“I am called Io.” She said stoically as he had come to expect. He smiled and held the fruit he picked out to her. 

“Well drink up. You were out in that air as long as I was. Probably even longer.” She blinked a few times before she slowly took the offered fruit and bit into it. 

“Heh…” he chuckled a bit at the rather innocent way she drank. Even though it was blood she was drinking the act still looked cute in his eyes.

“Now then…” he muttered as he turned to the tree.

“So these things make the blood that feed us?” he thought as he placed his hand against it. The thing was barren until his blood was spilled on it. The fruits, those beads of blood grew immediately when his blood was dropped on it. How strange, why did that happen? 

“My blood…” he spoke aloud as he looked at his hands. Could all Revenants do what he did? 

“Your blood is special.” Io spoke and he blinked as he turned towards her. 

“Your blood is different from others.” She continued and he frowned as he looked towards the ground. 

“I guess that makes things complicated then…” he sighed as he took another look over the ruined city. 

“So you don’t remember anything at all about what happened here?” he knew she said she didn’t but they were a little preoccupied at the time. Maybe something came up now? 

“No. I still don’t remember anything. I’m sorry.” She shook her head. 

“Worth a shot…” he sighed as he looked down at himself. The jacket he wore was rather tattered and upon closer inspection he realized that there was a giant hole where his heart would be. The black clothes he wore under it were fine but the jacket itself had the hole. 

“Didn’t she say that if my heart was damaged I would be dead for good?” he thought back to what Cruz said. If that was true then how come he was still up and about? Maybe…no those were questions for another time. He had other things to worry about, he was alive and that was what mattered. When he was somewhere safe he could worry about what happened to him. 

“What were you doing out here anyway, Io?” Cecil asked as he turned back to the woman. 

“I came here looking for you.” She responded and he blinked. 

“Really? Why?” he asked. That was…a little odd. Did she know him? 

“I…I can’t say. I don’t believe we’ve ever met but I was drawn to you. I just felt this need to find you. When I did I felt at peace.” Her tone was monotone but she spoke with such resolve. 

“I…um…” Cecil found himself blushing a bit at such a blatant desire to be around him. He might not have memories but an attractive woman saying they want to be in close proximity to him was…well exciting. He took a few moments to calm himself down before he asked her another question. 

“Are you sure we haven’t met before?” he asked and she shook her head.

“I do not know but I know it was you I sought out.” Okay that answered one thing at least. 

“Do you know anywhere that we can seek shelter?” he didn’t fancy the idea of sitting out in the open. If any of those Lost showed up it was going to be difficult to fight them off. Neither of them had weapons and he wasn’t exactly an expert on the how his powers worked yet. He didn’t even know if he had any powers that would be good in a fight yet. 

“No…the miasma in the air will likely make it difficult to travel far as well. If not for this Bloodspring, both of us may have fallen to frenzy.” Right there was also the fact that the very air could make them turn into monsters if they breathed it in too long. This situation was turning out to be very bad. 

“How bad is this miasma?” he asked. 

“The air around this spring is purified enough. If we stray too far we may run into an area where the miasma is too thick for us.” Io said and Cecil sighed as he ran through what they could do but came up with nothing. 

No weapons, no masks, no memories, no help and no idea where they were. The only thing they had was that spring. Yeah the task he was given seemed to be very far out of reach now. He would be lucky to get out of this situation alive…

“You should rest. You were out for some time and you have only recently fed.” Io advised and Cecil’s head lowered. 

“Maybe some rest would help.” He agreed. The blood had taken the edge off but he still felt out of it especially now that the situation had set in on him. 

“Yes. Rest now and recover your strength. We can try to find…something when you are rested.” Io spoke in agreement as he sat down against the tree. The way she spoke set something off in Cecil this time however. While he appreciated her kindness, something didn’t sit right with him now. 

Cecil looked a bit closer at Io now and saw bags under her eyes, making him wince. The poor girl must have been running ragged despite the way she acted. She said she had been looking for him? How long had that taken? And how long had she sat by his side watching over him? 

“You’re tired.” he stated and she blinked at him. 

“I will be fine.” she said but he shook his head.

“You need to rest too.” He pat the ground next to him and gave her a look that would have no argument. 

“Very well…” she slowly approached him with her head tilted down slightly as she sat down against the bloodspring on his right. She seemed to just sit there though, staring at the world around them and occasionally looking towards him. 

He sighed softly and leaned his head back against the tree to get more comfortable. Despite waking up recently he felt exhausted. He could already feel sleep creeping up on him. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the world.

“Well hopefully-huh?” he blinked when he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see that Io had leaned herself against him. Upon closer inspection he realized she was still awake but she had settled herself closer to him.

“Mm…” he yawned softly, his body reminding him that he was tired. He let his body relax again as he closed his eyes and felt the darkness begin to creep on him again. But just before he slept, he heard Io say two words.

“Rest well…”

\---

Cecil twitched as if something had happened around him, bringing him out of his restive state. He felt something grasping his arm but when he opened his eyes he only saw two yellow orbs, Io’s eyes. She had apparently clutched onto him during his rest. And she was currently watching him. He probably should have felt embarrassed but he didn’t for some reason. 

“Hello…” she greeted. He noted that the bags were still under her eyes. Had she even fallen asleep or had she stayed awake? 

“He-”

Crack 

Cecil flinched at the sound and his eyes went up to see two people wearing what he thought were some kind of armored coats and some type of gas masks. They were both wielding guns with sharpened blades at the end of them. 

“Well looks like we hit the jackpot!” one of them boasted, immediately giving Cecil a bad feeling. He immediately got to his feet and helped Io get to her feet as well. Whatever this “jackpot” was, it was unlikely to bode well for them if the tone was anything to go off of.

“A fresh spring and some new workers.” The other one chuckled. Cecil eyes narrowed and he shifted Io behind him gently. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” he stated firmly but the two men, revenants didn’t get threatened at all. 

“Oh don’t worry Thrall. You just need to know that we’re your masters now.” The first man said, only making Cecil tense. 

“Now come here.” The second one said as he took a step towards them. Cecil barred his fangs at his approach and let out a small growl in warning. In response they both raised their guns towards them.

“Easy now…if you put up a fuss we’ll have to put you down.” The first revenant warned. Cecil felt his anger rise but he did have to admit that this wasn’t the best situation to be in. 

“Just leave us be. If you want the spring you can have it but let us go.” He tried. He did not fancy charging them when they had guns but he didn’t feel like becoming a worker for them either. The thought of what they might do with Io also gave him plenty of incentive to not be taken by them. 

His demand only made the two revenants laugh though. 

“Ha! You seem to think this is a negotiation!” the first one crowed. 

“You see, we have the guns and you’re both unarmed and unmasked. If we let you go you’ll just frenzy from the miasma or get killed by Lost. If we take you we get new workers and you get to live for a bit longer.” The second one explained and Cecil grit his teeth. He didn’t expect reasoning to work but he had hoped it might. It seemed force was his main option. 

“Grrr…”

“Don’t try it.” The first one said in a firmer voice the moment Cecil tensed. 

“If you attack we’ll blast your heart before you take two steps. Then we’ll have to make your pretty friend there pick up the slack you would have taken. Perhaps we could even make her do “something else” instead…” he spoke with such smugness especially that last part that it made Cecil sick to the core. 

“…” he glowered at them. If he could just close the distance then he c-

“Its okay Cecil…” Io’s hand grasped his arm and he tilted his head to her but still kept an eye on the hostile revenants. 

“Io…” she shook her head.

“Don’t risk yourself for me. Please…” the look she gave him was so imploring that he found himself stopping. 

“Fine…” he sighed as he dropped his hostility. He looked towards the revenants again and gave them a small nod. 

“Heh…seems like she has you on a leash. Nice to know.” The first gun wielding revenant said as he looked over Io like some kind of cattle.

“There will be another moment.” Cecil thought as he calmed himself down from trying to rip his throat out. He kept himself calm as the second revenant approached them cautiously while the first one kept his gun trained on him.

“Well there is one more thing now.” The second one said as he approached. He wasn’t really holding his gun in a mode to fire it now. 

“What?” Cecil sighed, having a feeling he knew what was going to come next from the way the revenant was moving. He saw the move coming but did not resist because of Io.

“This!” 

Cecil glared at the obvious move before darkness claimed him once again.


	2. Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you guys go! I actually have the first couple chapters made, I just need to read through them. Well enjoy!

“…Er…” Cecil groaned as he felt consciousness return to him along with a small throbbing pain from the side of his head. That guy really laid it on him with that blow. 

“I’ll get that guy for that…” Cecil swore as he opened his eyes. He saw Io’s face above him but she was asleep. The soft surface under his head must have been her lap. 

“Hm…” his eyes moved past her face to the world above and he saw naught but a concrete ceiling. 

“Great…” he sighed as he sat up slowly but careful not to disturb Io. 

“Careful. Your friend just fell asleep.” Cecil turned to see a man, a revenant sitting across from him against a stone pillar. 

“I see…” Cecil nodded as he carefully set himself next to her. She looked peaceful, nothing at all like the world around them.

“She’s been watching over you since you were both thrown in here. Must have tired herself out.” The man said. Cecil frowned as he watched Io sleep.

“Yeah…must have.” He wondered if she had slept since she found him out in the ruins. She must have stayed awake the whole time he slept on that spring like he suspected.

Io shifted slightly in her sleep and her hand moved towards his arm and held it gently. At the same time she shifted towards him instinctively. Cecil frowned but he gently leaned her against his shoulder. Better to give her something other than stone to sleep on. 

“Heh…at least love is still around in this screwed world.” The man commented and Cecil blushed. He may not have memories but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand what that meant. 

“I…we’re not together.” He said gently, not to disturb Io. 

“Really? Fooled me then.” The man sighed as he leaned back against his “seat”. 

Cecil took a look around the area. They were in some kind of concrete room. He had no idea what it was supposed to be but it was a prison now. There was only one way out, a door that was only accessible by ladder. Said ladder was pulled up though so only someone up above could let them out. Behind him there were bars that showed the outside but all he saw was red mist.

There were other revenants in the room, at least eight or so including them. They all had masks on along with some kind of protective coat or armor over their normal clothes. None of them were armed though. 

“Where are we?” he asked the man in front of him. The others didn’t seem too keen on speaking to him aside from this one. 

“Some place close to the red mist. We’re here because we were unlucky enough to get caught by a bunch of other revenants that need workers to go find blood beads.” The man sighed at the end as he wiped his hand through his hair. 

“Blood beads…” he must have been talking about those things that grew from that tree Io called a spring. 

“Yeah. Most government shelters have plenty of blood to go around but they can only fit so many revenants per shelter. So we have places like this, where the strong revenants force the weaker ones to look for blood beads and bloodsprings. They can’t be bothered to risk themselves so they make us do it so they have enough beads for the levy system.” The man explained and Cecil nodded grimly. So that was what those revenants meant when they called him and Io, workers. 

“Levy system?” he asked and the man looked at him in confusion before he made an “ah” sound. 

“You must have really died a lot if you don’t remember that or maybe your last death hit you a lot harder than it should have.” The man said and Cecil winced and turned away. 

“Hey don’t worry about it. At least you didn’t get ashed for good or turn into a Lost.” The man reassured and Cecil shrugged. 

“Well, I’ll answer what questions you have. Gives us something to do while we’re sitting here.” The man sighed as he adjusted his posture. 

“What happened here?” he asked and the man chuckled. 

“Well to make a long story slightly less long, the world is screwed. We’re stuck in what used to be a city. We call it the Vein now.” Well that was short. 

“How did the world get this way?” Cecil asked and the man sighed. 

“I’m not exactly sure on the details but back before the Vein was like this, there used to be a lot of normal people around, humans. Then the one that really started this off, the Queen really screwed it all up.” The man wiped his hair as he took a breath. Cecil pondered that information, who was this “Queen” though? 

“Queen?” he asked and the man chuckled before he pointed at him. 

“You really don’t remember anything do you? You’re wearing a blood veil from Operation Queenslayer. No one else wears veils like that.” The man said and Cecil looked at the tattered jacket he wore. 

“And the Queen?” he asked next, making the man clear his throat. 

“I don’t know the specifics since I woke up after it happened but the Queen was supposed to be a revenant like us. It was supposed to be some big project to help revenants. Except she obviously lost it and frenzied, which is how things really kicked off. The creation of revenants really picked up and along with them, the population of Lost picked up as well. Revenants are the only people who can effectively fight the Lost but as I’m sure you learned by now we need blood to keep ourselves sane.” The man explained before he pointed back at Cecil.

“Operation Queenslayer was the move to take the Queen down. It worked but things haven’t really improved much even with the queen gone. The government has a little levy system set up. All revenant holds must give a certain amount of blood beads up and the government then redistributes them. For a time it worked but now bloodsprings are drying up so blood beads are becoming scarce. We could live off human blood too but what humans remain are closely guarded by the government. So between the levy and no access to humans, blood is a little hard to come by.

To make matters worse, the mistles, the things that purify the air are starting to die out so the areas cleared of miasma are lessening. So if hunger won’t get to us, then the air eventually will and everyone that falls to frenzy is just another addition to the Lost.” The man explained and Cecil nodded in understanding. 

“I see…” things did not sound good at all. 

“Oh I almost forgot to ask. Where are your masks?” the man asked and Cecil shrugged. 

“Well that’s no good. We’re so close to the red mist and thick miasma. Here, hang on a moment.” The man stood up and walked off to the back of the room. Cecil couldn’t see what he was doing but when he came back he had two masks in hand. One was a full-face mask with part of the visor missing. The second one was a mask that only covered the mouth and nose, with two red filters on both sides. 

“Just put those on. The mask will fix itself to your frame. Trust me when I say you never want to go outside without them.” The man said as he held them both out to him. Cecil only had one hand free due to Io so he carefully placed the full mask on her face and like the man said it fixed itself to the frame around her chin. Then he took the second mask and held it up to his face and it attached itself to his frame just like Io’s did. 

The air immediately felt a lot lighter with the filtration mask on. That was a weight off his shoulders at least. 

“Hey!” a loud voice up above called. Cecil looked up and saw a Revenant standing above at the ladder. 

“Number 3 and 4 come up. Newcomers too. Its time to get to work!” he commanded as he kicked the ladder, sending it down to their level. 

“Looks like that’s your queue.” His informative cellmate said. 

“Yeah I guess so…” he sighed. 

“Good luck…” the man said as he went to a different corner of the room.

“Hurry up!” the guard barked and Cecil winced. 

He looked at Io, she was still asleep and he didn’t want to wake her. Except they had to move, so he reluctantly shook her shoulder gently. She didn’t respond though. In fact her hold on his arm seemed to tighten. 

“Hey! What’s the hold up!?” the guard barked and Cecil winced again. 

“I’m trying to wake my companion up.” Cecil responded in an even tone. 

“Well hurry up. Carry her if you care so much! Otherwise I won’t be so gentle if I have to come down there.” The guard warned. Cecil fumed a bit but he contained himself. Now was not the time to lose it. Looks like he would have to carry Io, lest he incur the “dogs” wrath. He hoped she wouldn’t mind.

“Mm…” or maybe not, Io was waking up. She slowly raised her head and let out a small yawn, covering her mouth as she did so. Cecil had a feeling she was woken up by the shouting. 

“Io…” he said gently. Her yellow eyes opened and focused on him right away.

“Sorry for falling asleep…” she mumbled and he rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t apologize for that, you were tired.” He stood up and offered her his hand and she took his hand tentatively and he pulled her onto her feet easily. She wasn’t really heavy at all. 

“I’m sorry but we have to go.” He said and she nodded.

“I heard.” So he was correct that the guard woke her up. 

They both climbed up to the top of the ladder to meet their impatient guards. When they reached the top, they were met by a small group of revenants. There were three others from the prison and some guards, including the two that caught him and Io in the first place. 

“About time.” One of the guards sneered behind his mask. 

“You’re lucky we need you for work.” Another one said. 

“We’re here aren’t we?” Cecil spoke and the guard tensed but he didn’t attack. 

“Whatever just get moving! All of you!” the guard motioned with his rifle and everyone followed his instruction. Cecil kept his eyes on the guards though. They kept looking at him with barely hidden contempt even their masks didn’t hide it.

He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be seeing that cell again one way or another…

\---

The revenants were brought outside into the ruined city. Cecil saw little more than ruined buildings, remains of cars and a road that was torn up. Truly things had gone terribly wrong for the city. Not that he could remember what it looked like before. They were probably in the middle of some kind of highway or parking garage maybe. Of course that was all guesswork on his part. 

Not that Cecil cared much for it, he had more pressing concerns. The guards had most of his attention. They had kept their eyes on him for the most part, especially the two that he ran into first. He was expecting them to shoot him at some point. Io saw this as well; she was staying close to him as if to shield him. The other prisoners had noticed this as well. Two of them stayed as far away from him as they could while the third, a young man with flowing red hair seemed to be fine with staying close to him. 

All in all, Cecil felt like he was standing on a powder keg. So not much different from before really just that he didn’t know when the explosion was going to happen. 

“Damn it all!” Cecil’s attention was drawn to his front where he saw who he assumed was the leader of his jailers. Unlike his underlings he wore an actual chest plate of armor or something close to it. That was his blood veil if Cecil had learned anything.

“This ones dead too!” He was kicking a rather strange looking plant at the moment. 

“This mistle is done and the government agents are going to be here soon to collect the levy.” The boss sighed before he looked up towards them. 

“We have everyone, boss.” One of the guards said. 

“Good.” The leader crossed his arms as he leaned against one of the ruined cars. “We’re going to need all of them on deck for this.”

“Yes sir…” the guard said before he motioned for them all to move forward. Cecil kept close to Io and made sure that he didn’t make any moves that would raise their ire. 

“Hope you guys are all rested. You’re going to be going deep into the underground for beads this time.” The leader declared.

“Wait!” one of the other prisoners stumbled forward up to the leader but the guards didn’t even stop him. Cecil grimaced since he could tell this wouldn’t be pretty.

“That mistle is dried up! If we stay here too long we’ll turn into Lost for sure!” the revenant tried to object but the leader just shrugged. 

“Of course that’s always a risk. But if we don’t get blood beads we’ll have our shirts taken off our backs by the government.” The leader was clearly apathetic to the pleas of the captive revenant. 

“What! But the miasma is so thick we can’t just ri-” before the man could object again, one of the guards knocked him down with his rifle. 

“Look, our stash of blood beads is low. If we don’t get more then Cerberus are going to take what little we have. I didn’t make the rules I just follow them so deal with it.” The leader took out a red fruit, a blood bead and held it up for them to see. 

“See this? I want you to find more. If you do then all is well. Just don’t get killed by the Lost too many times and you’ll all do fine.” If it was that easy then this guy and his men would be going wherever they were sending them too. 

“Well send them in.” the leader waved his hand and a pair of guards started pushing the revenant who spoke out and another one down one of the roads towards what looked like some kind of pit. 

More importantly Cecil noticed everyone turn away from him. This was an opening he could use. The leader was the most heavily armored so he should go after him first. Before he could take two steps towards the leader the revenant with red hair stopped him.

“Don’t. There will be a better time.” Cecil felt like he was crazy but he backed down, especially since the guards turned back towards them. 

“Tch!” he grimaced in annoyance since the moment was gone forever now. He felt a soft hand grasp his and he turned to Io who gave him a nod. 

“Its okay…” she spoke and he calmed down a bit from her words. She squeezed his hand again before she released it. 

“Just go down!” Cecil turned back to see the guards push the two revenants down the hole before they turned back towards them. 

“Next!” they shouted. Cecil sighed before he went forward. Io and the redhead followed after him. Except before they got close the leader stepped in and grabbed Io. 

“Not you. You’re staying here.” He pulled Io from Cecil’s side and he immediately stepped towards them but the guards got in his way.

“Not so fast…” the guard must have been smirking under his mask. Cecil had half a mind to break his face against the concrete. See how smug he would be then. 

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to her.” The leader chuckled as he pulled Io back further. To her credit Io didn’t look scared but she clearly didn’t want to be there either.

“Have to say, you’re lucky to have a friend this pretty.” The leader was smug as he looked Io over. Cecil narrowed his eyes at the man in contempt. He should have torn his throat out when he had the chance. The leader easily noticed his gaze and chuckled. 

“Such fire in your eyes. Look, go find some blood beads, enough to cover for you and your little girlfriend here and then you can have her back.” The leader ran one of his fingers under Io’s chin and down her neck to emphasize. Cecil was fuming and he pressed against the guard again who buckled a bit. 

“Move it!” two of the guards worked together to push him back.

“Leave her be you creep!” Cecil shouted even as he was forced back. 

“Oh don’t worry I wouldn’t hurt a prize like this. She’s insurance that you’ll come back. Have fun down there.” The leader taunted as if Io was some kind of prize to hold. 

“Why you-”

“Cecil it’s okay.” Io spoke up finally and Cecil looked towards her. 

“I’ll be okay. I know you’ll come back. Please don’t fight right now.” She said sincerely. Cecil still felt angry but he followed her wish and stopped resisting the guards. 

“Io…” he gave her another look before the guards dragged him down to the edge with the redheaded revenant. 

Cecil peered into the hole before he felt one of the guards push him over. He fell down into the darkness for a few moments before he saw the ground coming. He braced himself and managed to roll on landing albeit very roughly and he ended up stopping on a stone pillar. 

“Er…” he coughed slightly as he stood up from his improvised landing. The revenant that was pushed down with him had landed on his butt rather hard but he got up just fine too. 

“Well that was longer than I thought it would be.” The revenant sighed. Cecil looked up from where they were pushed to see a ladder but it was pulled up. 

“Looks like we can’t go back that way. We’ll have to find another way.” The revenant had a rather optimistic sound to his tone. So he was good-natured type, a nice change from the jerks that pushed them down there. 

“Looks like it.” Cecil sighed. He hoped Io would be okay up there. 

“Worried about your friend?” the good-natured revenant asked. Cecil nodded in response. 

“Well, you’ll just have to find some blood beads then. I’ve been with those guys for a while, they always leave you alone as long as you find blood beads for them.” That sounded more like appeasement than being “left alone” to Cecil. 

“By the way, my name is Oliver Collins. What’s your name?” the revenant held his hand out. 

“Cecil.” Cecil responded slowly as he shook the offered hand. 

“You sure about that? You looked unsure for a moment there.” Oliver commented and Cecil shrugged. 

“I guess. It’s just the one I remembered when I woke up.” He wondered if that was even his real name. Not like he had anyone around who could tell him though. Come to think of it, he probably should have asked Cruz if that was actually his name.

“Ah I see. Memory problems huh? I got those too. Barely remember what the world was like before I woke up.” Cecil didn’t even remember anything about how the world was currently, so Oliver had more than him already. 

“Ah well, no use worrying about it now. We’re here and that’s what matters.” Oliver said and Cecil couldn’t help but appreciate the energy. Oliver was clearly a positive individual. 

“Looks like we don’t have much choice in where we go.” Oliver nodded towards the path in front of them. 

Cecil looked towards the path in front of them. It was dark and Cecil could hear something moving around further in but Oliver was right, they didn’t have much choice. The only other way was through a door behind him but Cecil didn’t need to try it to know it was locked.

“Not much choice.” Cecil agreed but then he noticed one of those strange plants the leader was messing with earlier. What did he call it, a mistle? Those were the things that could purify the air around them right? 

“Hang on, this thing’s a mistle right?” Cecil asked as he went over to the plant. It was closed up, kind of like a flower before it bloomed. 

“Yeah it keeps the miasma levels down and it can restore our strength but it’s dried up right now. That means the miasma down here is very strong. We’ll have to be careful.” Oliver explained. Cecil though was thinking about the time when he made that bloodspring grow and produce more blood beads even though it was barren. 

“I wonder…” Cecil pulled his sleeve back slightly and removed his mask for a moment. 

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked but Cecil ignored him. He opened his mouth and used his fangs to break his skin and then he made a few drops of his blood fall onto the mistle. 

“What did y-” Oliver’s eyes widened as the mistle lit up and opened up, exuding bright light as well just like the bloodspring did when Cecil’s blood was dropped on it. 

“Hm…” Cecil sighed as he felt the air lighten up considerably. He took a few deep breathes before he put his mask back on. 

“What the hell!?” Oliver exclaimed and Cecil winced at the loud tone. He really should have expected that. 

“This is amazing!” Oliver grabbed Cecil’s shoulders and shook him gently, making him chuckle slightly. 

“Okay, calm down.” Cecil said gently and Oliver released him with a laugh.

“How can you do that? I’ve never heard of anything like that working. And people have tried everything to try and make mistles open back up.” Cecil shrugged in response. He literally had no idea. 

“I’m not sure.” Maybe it had something to do with what Cruz said he could do? Maybe. Maybe it was because he was from Operation Queenslayer? 

“Hm I remember hearing that back during Operation Queenslayer revenants were able to unlock mistles but the ones I’ve met have never been able to unlock them with their blood.” well there went that idea. 

“Sorry. I don’t recall anything from that time.” He did get those flashes that one time but that was it. That only happened when he was close to frenzy and he did not feel like experiencing that again. 

“Ah well that’s too bad but that’s not as important. You understand what this means right? You can make the land safe to travel now! All the places we lost because of the mistles drying up can be taken back!” That was certainly a promising idea. Cecil wondered how he would feel if he found out that he could apparently make bloodsprings grow blood beads on demand too. Well he would find out soon enough. Best let him wait for that surprise. 

“Even if we don’t find any blood beads at least we’ll be safe from the miasma now.” Oliver sighed in relief. 

“Yeah.” They still had the Lost to deal with though. 

“So do you have any weapons on you?” Cecil asked. He certainly didn’t have any, not even when he woke up with Io watching over him. 

“Nothing other than my blood veil.” He said and suddenly his mask shifted into some kind of hound shape while the sleeves of his blood veil turned into two demon hound heads. 

“huh?!” Cecil jumped back suddenly and Oliver chuckled as he made the hounds disappear, turning back into the jacket he wore like a cape. He seemed a bit embarrassed about his little show. 

“Sorry, forgot you don’t remember much. Your blood veil can be used to attack and drain enemies. That’s how we restore our ichor. You know what that is right?” Oliver explained. 

“Ah I see…” so that’s what it meant to “drain”. 

“Yeah, just try to imagine it and it should work.” Oliver explained. Cecil looked at his coat and focused for a moment and then suddenly his right hand changed, a black mass twisted around it until something broke free, a claw. His hand was now a large black claw with five large sharp claws. Plus he felt his mask change a bit. The claw must connect to his mask.

“There you go! See, it’s easy!” Oliver cheered. Cecil flushed a bit at the praise. He stared at his “hand” for a bit and he imagined it going away and then in a manner similar to how it transformed, his hand returned to normal. 

“That will be useful.” He wished he knew about that before he got captured. Then again, even if he did, those two guards still had guns. Not to mention their own blood veils and whatever gifts they had. 

“Yeah, we also have our gifts.” Ah yes, his gifts. He still didn’t know what he had other than the fact that he could use any gift from any blood code. 

“You don’t know what gifts you have do you?” Oliver asked and Cecil shrugged. Cruz said he had three blood codes inside of him but he didn’t know how to call upon their powers aside from one thing. 

“I think I have something that boosts my striking power but I don’t know what else.” Oliver shrugged that off rather easily though.

“No worries. You can try to figure out what you can do while we’re down here. Besides, we’ll be relying on our weapons a bit more than our gifts right now. Weapons don’t rely on ichor after all.” Oliver said simply. 

“We don’t have weapons.” Cecil reminded and Oliver held up a finger as he walked over to a damaged wall. He reached in and pulled part of the metal skeleton free with a slab of concrete attached to it. 

“Here’s a weapon.” Oliver said proudly as he hefted his “weapon” proudly. 

“Right…” Cecil looked around and spotted a thin steel pipe on the ground. He picked it up and gave it a few swings. It was very light and fast but he felt like it would not hurt anything inhuman much. Oh well, not like he had much choice. 

“See, wasn’t so bad was it?” Oliver asked and Cecil rolled his eyes. 

“I suppose…so we just go forward then?” Cecil asked and Oliver nodded.

“That’s the plan.” He went on ahead and Cecil gave one last look towards the top before he followed after him. This was going to be a long day.

\---

Cecil and Oliver strolled through the dark hallway in relative silence. They had been walking for about five minutes but so far nothing had really come after them. 

“It’s quiet.” Cecil voiced and Oliver nodded. 

“Yeah it is.” Oliver sounded a bit nonchalant about it and that confused Cecil more than a little. 

“Why? I know I was hearing something moving around out here. How come nothing has challenged us yet?” he hoped they weren’t being stalked from the shadows.

“It’s the mistle you reactivated. The Lost exude the miasma and the mistle purifies it. So naturally the mistle works as a type of safety net that the Lost don’t go near. The bloodsprings do something similar in warding Lost off but not exactly purifying the air.” Oliver explained and then he seemed to flush from the way he scratched the back of his head. 

“Right forgot you didn’t know, sorry.” Cecil sighed but he reigned in his annoyance. It wasn’t Oliver’s fault that he lost his memories and likely all knowledge about his world. This likely wasn’t going to be the last time he would be made to look ignorant either. Best to just get used to it. 

“Its fine.” Cecil said but then he tensed and Oliver did as well. Why Cecil reacted so sharply was because he just saw something. 

“What is that?” leaned against the wall was a body but it didn’t look human or revenant. The body was “human” in shape but it was anything but that. The skin was grotesque like it had been in the process of rotting before it suddenly was revitalized. It was ghastly in appearance, elongated limbs, tattered remnants of a uniform. The more disturbing part was the mask it was wearing on its head. It looked like a revenant mask but it had long since become a part of the thing’s head more than a separate feature. The only thing that wasn’t off putting was the steel beam lodged through its chest, sticking it to the wall.

“That’s a Lost. You better get used to it, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of them.” Oliver had a somber tone now. Cecil couldn’t help but shudder a bit. It was hard not to feel that way after seeing what his fate would be if he didn’t keep himself fed and masked. 

“That one isn’t active right now but keep your distance all the same.” Oliver advised and Cecil nodded. Together they carefully moved around the “corpse” to get further on their way. 

“We’ll likely be seeing more Lost real soon, the active kind. Stay on your toes. They do like to hide sometimes.” He warned. His tone was nothing at all like the jovial one he had when Cecil reactivated that mistle. 

Fortunately the first active Lost that Cecil saw was not hiding and in plain sight for him. The bad news, it was eating another Lost corpse. 

“Eh…” Cecil grimaced at such a grotesque scene. He could hear the things teeth and hands ripping into the flesh as the blood pooled around it. 

“Great…” Oliver groaned, fairing little better than Cecil did. “Well it doesn’t know we’re here…go on and give it a good hit.” 

Cecil nodded and slowly crept up on the feasting Lost. Thankfully the thing didn’t see him coming the whole time. He raised his weapon as he approached but thought better of it and instead he brought his claw out. Then he instinctively thrust his claws into the Lost’s back with a sickening squish. 

“KRA!!!” the Lost let out a horrid shriek but it did not try to attack him. He felt something drain from the Lost to himself, invigorating him. When the feeling stopped he pulled his claw out and watched the Lost slump to the ground and turn to ash.

“Nice job.” Oliver’s hand clasped his shoulder and he nearly jumped in surprise. 

“Its okay. Its just me.” Oliver said gently and Cecil winced as he took a few moments to calm himself down. He didn’t realize how fast his heart was beating. 

“Well it seems your body remembers what to do for the most part at least even if you don’t actively remember.” Oliver commented. Cecil looked down at his clawed hand and dismissed it back to its normal state. That had been…rather invigorating actually, not fun exactly but he didn’t dislike it. Would satisfied be the better word? Yes that must have been it. 

“Word of advice, you can release a pulse from your hand to stun the Lost if you catch them off guard like that. It’ll make it easier to drain them.” Cecil nodded slowly as he turned back towards the path. 

“Oh and if you feel a different sensation. Like something other than ichor going into you, that’s probably haze. Think of it like our currency.” Oliver added as they moved along. 

“Right…” he actually didn’t notice anything like that. He guessed he would figure that out later on. 

Before he could think more on that though he heard some shuffling from the darkness. Then he heard quite a few inhuman shrieks. 

“Well I hope your instincts are as good in an actual fight as they are at sneak attacks!” Oliver exclaimed as he raised his makeshift hammer. Cecil prepared himself as three Lost showed up to face them. 

“Lets go!” Oliver charged forward. He smashed his hammer down on the first one, hopefully taking it out. Cecil didn’t have time to check though because one of its fellows went right after him. 

“Eh!” he raised his weapon and blocked the Lost’s own blade. 

“These things can use weapons?!” he grunted as he pushed the snarling beast back and struck it over the head instinctively with a load metal thunk! 

While the hit did do damage the Lost didn’t die and just snarled at him as it reared back to strike again. 

“Ngn!” Cecil backed away but the sword snagged his arm, cutting him. It stung but he was more angered than hurt. Before the Lost could raise its blade again though he smashed it over the head, knocking it to the ground. When the thing tried to get up he smashed his pipe over its head again, creating a sickening crunch from the bones breaking. This time the thing didn’t get back up. It began to turn to ash like the other one. 

“…” Cecil turned his gaze towards the rest of the battle to see if Oliver dodging around the last Lost’s attacks. 

He ran up to the battle and when the Lost turned its head towards him he smashed his pipe into its face, sending it reeling. Then Oliver brought his hammer down onto the Lost with an overhead strike, flattening it into the ground with a loud crunch.

“Hah…nice going. Seems you got the hang of it now huh?” Oliver panted lightly as he rested his weapon on his shoulder. 

“I suppose so…” it did feel a bit like second nature once the fighting started though maybe not too good. He looked at his left arm and winced as he saw some blood leaking from the wound. He looked around for something to cover it but Oliver interrupted him.

“Just use your regeneration.” He advised. 

“Regeneration?” he was confused. He thought about it for a few moments and then he felt a weird tingling feeling in the limb and when he looked again he saw the wound closed. Even the cut in his clothes had repaired itself too. 

“Regeneration. Nice huh?” Oliver commented. Cecil blinked as he took that information in. That was different. 

“Right I should probably explain. Not only can we come back to life after we die, we can also heal ourselves. Though we can only do it so many times before it has to “recharge”. Resting at a mistle would be the quickest way to get it back. Though those things are usually few and far between so you should try to use your regeneration sparingly.” Oliver explained and Cecil took it all in stride. Simple enough he supposed. It was still a little weird to do he supposed he would just have to learn as he went like Cruz said. 

“Do I just have to focus to activate it?” he asked. 

“Pretty much. To me it feels similar to using my gifts. You can usually tell when you can’t regenerate anymore and how many times you can actually do it. So you might want to keep that in mind next time.” He shrugged. Lovely more things he had to figure out on his own. Why couldn’t there be a manual for this? He wished Cruz had explained more of this. 

“Right…hm…” moving on he saw that while the Lost had been turned to ash their weapons had remained behind. 

“Are these useable?” he asked as he picked up one of the weapons, it was a crude looking broadsword but at least it actually was a sword instead of a pipe. 

“I guess so. Those look like weapons forged during Operation Queenslayer but changed. Guess the Lost really do mess up everything they get their hands on.” Cecil looked at the roughed up blade. It had clearly seen better days and it had not been serviced in years most likely. The fact that it was still sharp was a miracle. 

“Better than a pipe.” He said as he threw aside the weapon in favor of this one. 

“Yeah most likely.” He didn’t make any move to pick up any of the weapons lying around though. Cecil didn’t comment on it since he figured none of them suited his style. 

“Lets keep going…” he said and Oliver nodded before they both went on their way through the tunnels. 

\---

They walked in relative silence for a while, keeping their ears open for any Lost. It seemed like they were in the clear though for a while. Nothing jumped out at them at least. Those Lost they killed must have just been skulking near them so they had heard them. 

“So…” Oliver began as they entered some kind of rocky cavern; different from the concrete tunnels they were working through. 

“What?” Cecil kept his eyes on the path and his ears open. 

“That girl up there is your friend right?” Cecil stopped walking. Friend? It hardly seemed right to call her that since he had only known her for two days at most. Even if she was good to him in all that time, it seemed premature. 

“Not exactly. She was with me when I woke up, before we were captured. She must have been watching over me for some time too.” He really didn’t know how long he was out there but he was thankful for her presence. He was fond of her for sure and he would protect her. By that logic maybe she already was a friend then?

“I see. You seemed pretty ready to attack those guards though when the boss took her back.” Cecil narrowed his eyes at Oliver’s reminder. The way that creep was touching Io just made his blood boil. 

“She was there for me when she didn’t have to be. I’ll protect her in return. She’s my companion in this mess I’ve woken up to.” He replied and Oliver chuckled. 

“Well seems like your mind is made up on the matter. You wouldn’t mind if I tagged along with you guys whenever we get free do you?” he sounded good-natured but Cecil could detect a bit of worry in his voice.

“I would not mind and Io probably won’t either.” Cecil couldn’t see his mouth but he was sure that Oliver smiled. 

“Heh that’s good. Have to say though it doesn’t hurt that your friend is nice to look at.” Cecil turned his eyes towards him and Oliver actually flinched. 

“I wouldn’t dream of trying anything though.” He threw out quickly and Cecil chuckled. 

“Relax…I know you won’t. But if you do…” he didn’t need to finish his sentence.

“Right…heh…” Oliver chuckled nervously and Cecil shook his head in amusement. It would be interesting having him around. He was a lot more expressive than Io so far. 

“Wait…” Cecil held his hand up as he heard some shuffling. The previous atmosphere was forgotten entirely as he tried to focus on what was making that sound. He heard some grunting but it sounded nothing like the Lost, it sounded human. 

“Another revenant?” Oliver asked and Cecil shrugged. 

They both crept down the path, hearing the grunts and shuffling grow louder as the descended. As they rounded a corner they saw who was making the noise. It was one of the revenants that had been sent in before them. He was panting on the ground like he was in pain. 

“Hey its one of the others.” Oliver sounded happy but Cecil was nervous. Before he could speak though, Oliver went up to the revenant. 

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked, as he got closer. “Come on, we’re from the same group we sh-”

“Rah!” the revenant turned around suddenly and Cecil saw that his eyes were glowing red and there was some kind of black spikes growing from his head now.

“Shit!” Oliver jumped back as the fallen revenant leapt at him. 

“Gr!” Cecil sprang in and slashed his sword through the foe’s torso, turning him to ash. Hopefully he would stay ash instead of coming back. 

“ugh…Great…” Cecil turned to Oliver who was laying on the floor now but more importantly he saw his gas mask was leaking. 

“Damned thing snagged me…” Oliver cursed as he sat up. “Serves me right for not recognizing the signs. Poor bastard was turning into a Lost.” 

“Oliver…” he held his hand up to him and let out a sigh. 

“Relax. Don’t worry about me right now. Just go on.” Cecil was stunned by the request. 

“Absolutely not. We leave this place together.” He vetoed. 

“No time to argue!” Oliver shouted, surprising him. He had never heard him speak that way before. 

“I’ll just slow you down at this rate. I’m dead weight for you.” He grunted in annoyance. “Just keep moving on ahead. I’ll work my way back to the mistle. I’ll be safe from the miasma there. You need to find blood beads.” 

“Eh…Oliver…” Cecil had a feeling he wasn’t going to make it that long. “Let me carry you back at least.”

“No. You need to leave me. If you take too long those guys up there will just think we all died for good.” Oliver shook his head. Cecil didn’t budge though and he chuckled. 

“Come on man. You have your girlfriend waiting for you up there. Don’t let her down for some guy you just met.” Cecil flinched slightly at the reminder. Yes…he couldn’t abandon Io. 

“Are you sure?” he asked and Oliver nodded. 

“Please go. I want someone to make it at least even if its just one of us.” The plea sealed Cecil’s decision and likely his fate. 

“I understand…” Cecil pat his shoulder and stood up slowly. 

“I better not see you again in a bad state.” Cecil commanded and Oliver laughed weakly. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re a good man Cecil. Now don’t keep your girlfriend waiting.” 

Cecil didn’t bother correcting him since the dread of leaving him there overrode his other feelings. Yet it didn’t stop him because like Oliver said, he did have someone else to think about too. Someone that had already helped him and now it was his turn to help her. With one last look at Oliver he journeyed deeper into the underground…


	3. Vestige

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you guys go. I have one more chapter that's written and just needs to be looked over. There will be a note at the end but until you get there enjoy!

Cecil grunted as he hacked down a Lost with a well-placed slice to its neck. Then he had to roll away to avoid being smashed by a Lost with a hammer. When he rolled to his feet he kicked the lost back before delivered a slash across its chest but when that didn’t make it go down he had to sidestep another attack before he impaled it where its heart should have been, finally turning it to ash. 

“…” Cecil looked around waiting for more Lost but when none came he calmed down. 

He had found himself in an area that had a large abyss that he could fall into if he was not careful. He had skirted the path around it, fighting off whatever lost he came across. Leaving Oliver behind left him in a bad mood so he vented his frustrations on the Lost. It also served the purpose of getting him used to fighting. 

“I need to find a better weapon.” He sighed as he looked down at the sword he got from a Lost. Maybe it would have been good if it was in pristine condition but now it was barely workable. The fact that it still had a sharp edge was the only good thing about it. Hopefully he could find something in better condition, maybe something bigger too. 

“Blood beads first.” He shook his head and kept moving. Gear could come later helping Io was the priority. Thankfully the room he was in was well lit and he could easily see all the Lost in the area. The bad news was that next Lost in the way was a rather large one.

“Guess I’ve got no choice.” He sighed as he approached. The Lost was at least three times the mass of the “normal” ones he was fighting. It also had a large axe for a weapon. 

“What poor soul turned into this?” Cecil thought as he approached. The Lost noticed him when he got within five meters and it roared at him before charging. 

“Lovely…” Cecil rolled to the side as it smashed the ground. He charged its side and slashed it but the Lost simple backhanded him, sending him into a wall. 

“ugh!” Cecil barely landed on his feet before he had to throw himself to the side to avoid getting smashed into the rock by the Lost. He slashed its back this time but while it did damage the Lost simply turned and tried to attack him again.

“Damn it!” he backed away to dodge. 

“Might as well try something!” Cecil concentrated to try and bring out something. His weapon and skill wasn’t going to be enough to deal with the sheer bulk right now. 

“Just give me something!” in that moment he felt a power build in his hand and held his hand up and a red energy blast fired from it and struck the Lost in the face, sending it reeling. 

Despite being shocked by his new attack Cecil rushed in and drove his sword deep into the Lost’s chest except the Lost didn’t stop coming and tried to smash him to bits again. He barely dislodged his sword in time to avoid the strike. The beast followed through with another attack unfortunately while Cecil was still dodging the first one. 

“Not good!” on instinct he activated his claw and swiped it at the axe. Surprisingly he not only stopped the attack but deflected it as well, sending the Lost onto its back foot. 

“Die this time!” Cecil lunged not wasting time and plunged his claw deep into the Lost. This time the Lost stilled and let out a low growl before it fell off his weapon. It turned to ash in front of him before it hit the ground. 

Cecil fell to a knee, panting gently from the exertion. His back ached from impact he made with the rock but he didn’t feel like using his regeneration since he could still move. 

“I used a gift?” Cecil thought as he recalled shooting the Lost with an energy blast. He raised his left hand up and tried to recall the feeling. When he did he felt energy surge to his hand again. He dismissed it and recalled it a few times to get used to it before he was satisfied. 

“Well at least that’s one thing learned. I guess I’ll call it an ichor blast since that’s what I was using.” He sighed as he stood up fully, ignoring the pain he felt. 

He didn’t see anymore Lost close by thankfully so he made his way to the end of the area. Luck seemed to be on his side though since the moment he rounded the corner he saw a makeshift camp along with a mistle. 

Seeing it, he immediately activated his regeneration to make his previous injuries leave. 

“Lucky…” he sighed as he cut his own flesh with his sword and spilled some blood on the mistle, activating it. He felt his energy restore itself and whatever exhaustion he felt start to abate until it was gone entirely. 

“That’s better.” He sighed as he rolled his shoulders. He looked around the makeshift camp now that he was out of danger. There were some empty boxes, empty travel bags and discarded bedrolls around. Whatever poor souls owned them must have been jumped when the mistle deactivated. 

“Hm…” moving on he didn’t see anything of much value. Other people must have taken anything of value or maybe the Lost did it. He certainly didn’t see any weapons. 

Right when he was about to move on though a small glint of metal caught his eye. It was barely sticking out from under a large box. Deciding it was worth the effort he easily lifted the rather light object off to reveal not one but two things. The first thing was a piece of metal that gave off a faint glow now that he saw it clearly. 

The second thing was a bit more interesting though. It was a case of some sort. It probably used to be white but its time down there had taken away its sheen. There also might have been a symbol on it but whatever it was had been scratched off. When he looked at the locks he saw that they had been welded shut like someone really didn’t want this to be taken. 

“Well it might be something important.” He picked the case up and put it in one of the bags lying around and slipped it over his shoulder. It would work as a way for him to carry any blood beads he found too. He also picked up the strange metal to take with him as well it could be useful if he got to keep it. 

“Right...better get moving again.” Cecil went on his way again after settling the bag. 

Cecil moved along another dark path after leaving the camp. Not like there were a lot of options since there was only one way to go. He ended up stopping though when he heard something. When he listened in it sounded like something was tapping against the wall. 

“Sounds like metal tapping against rock?” he wasn’t completely sure but that’s what it seemed like. He didn’t think a Lost would do that so maybe it was another revenant? 

He got his answer when he came around another corner. There was indeed another person, a revenant. 

“Hm?” the revenant noticed him almost right away. He was a young man with fair skin and black hair that covered one of his ruby eyes. His mask covered the bottom portion of his face like Cecil’s did. He was almost a head shorter than Cecil and also possessed a thinner build. The revenant was dressed in some rather fancy clothes, wearing what looked like a suit minus the blazer in favor of a blood veil that covered his right arm and a shroud that covered his left. The more important things that Cecil noticed though were his weapons. He saw a gun under one of his arms in a holster and he also saw a rather unique looking sword leaned next to him. The most notable thing about it was the entire blade section itself was red. 

“You stuck down here too?” the revenant asked as his hand rested on the hilt of his blade. His voice was kind yet cautious at the same time. 

“Not stuck per say. I was thrown down here and I’m working my way out.” Cecil decided to be nice since the stranger hadn’t attacked him outright. He didn’t look like anyone from the group he was in either, his gear was far more pristine than anything he saw them using. 

“Well there’s a way out down that way.” The revenant pointed towards the path ahead. “There’s a few Lost but the real problem is a group of revenants sitting up on the surface now. I really don’t want to run into them.” 

“Yeah I know, they’re the ones who kicked me down here.” Cecil sighed and the revenant gave him a look. 

“Ah I see so they sent you down here then?” he asked and Cecil nodded. 

“Hm…you can wait here with me for a bit. They’ll probably assume you’re dead after a while and move off. I can take you back somewhere safe.” He offered but Cecil shook his head. 

“I can’t. They have my friend.” Cecil wasn’t going to abandon Io. “If I don’t go back to them with blood beads then they’ll take her away.” 

“I see…” the revenant seemed to think for a moment before he pushed off the wall. “I’ll help you look for some blood beads then.” 

“Just like that?” Cecil was suspicious. The only friendly revenants he had met so far were Io, Oliver and that poor guy in the prison. Everyone else had threatened him; taken him prisoner or he just didn’t know them. 

“Yes. Look I promise you I won’t stab you in the back okay?” he offered his hand to him and Cecil looked at him for a few moments. He wanted to just leave this revenant and move on but something else told him to trust him at the same time. 

“Very well…” he reached out with his free hand and shook the offered one. 

“Great. We can start by taking out the Lost ahead. There’s a bloodspring ahead as well but it’s dried up. Hopefully there will be something else laying around.” The revenant explained. Cecil perked up at the mention of a bloodspring. The image of reactivating that bloodspring from before entered his mind for a moment. Well at least he had his plan now.

“Right…” 

\---

Dealing with the Lost in their path had proven rather easy in comparison to before. Two revenants were better than one after all but it was a bit more than that. Cecil had taken the role of charging in first and taking the enemy directly while his new companion used his nimble moves to go around and attack from the sides. The stranger was far faster than Oliver had been, and a bit faster than Cecil too. His strikes were lighter than either of them though but it didn’t matter much since he struck so fast that the Lost couldn’t really react in time. He was also able to launch fire from his hands. That blade work of his was interesting. He relied more on his speed than strength despite the blade he wielded.

When the last Lost was defeated they ascended an old ladder. Thankfully the ladder led to a much brighter area. They were finally getting out of the dark caves of the underground. 

The new room was full of light. There was only a small opening that allowed sunlight in but it was magnified by the bloodspring in the room. It was the first real light Cecil had seen since he was thrown into that pit. They must’ve been really close to the surface now. 

“Well there’s the bloodspring but its dry. The surface is close too.” The stranger sighed. Cecil hoped that Io was still waiting for him; he had been down there for a while now. He also hoped Oliver had managed to make it back to the mistle. 

“Here.” Cecil turned to see the stranger holding out two blood beads to him. 

“It’s not much but at least you won’t be going back empty handed.” Cecil didn’t take them though and went up to the bloodspring. 

“What are you doing?” he was asked but he didn’t answer. He raised his blade and made a small cut on his arm again and a few drops of his blood fell onto the tree. Then just like before it began to grow and emit more light. Branches with blood beads already grew out as well. 

“What the…” Cecil smiled slightly at the disbelief in the stranger’s voice. 

“You helped me get here so you can have some for yourself.” Cecil said as he began picking some of the beads and putting them in his bag. He took about nine of them, more than enough to cover him, Io and Oliver. 

“What the heck was-no…” Cecil looked back at stranger to see him staring at him in shock still before he looked like he was contemplating something. 

“I’ll go with you up to the surface.” He said suddenly and Cecil blinked. 

“I’ll help you get free from those guys and help you free your friend also.” That was remarkably generous of him. It wasn’t hard to see why though. 

“I’m not in the mood to be someone’s meal ticket.” He said and the stranger shook his head quickly.

“No I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighed before he continued. “Look I want to help you. Just hear me out afterwards okay? You can decide what you want to do afterwards.” 

Cecil mulled that over. It would be good to be free but he wasn’t sure about this guy. How did he know he wasn’t just going to trade one cell for another one? He would have liked to trust this guy, he seemed nice but at the same time he had just seen what he could do. He wasn’t like Oliver who was a prisoner just like him and he wasn’t like Io who had helped him at her own detriment. 

Still…Cecil felt like this guy was trustworthy for some reason. He felt like he could trust him. It didn’t feel like he was going to double cross him at all…

“No promises.” He said. The revenant seemed happy about that. 

“Thank you.” He said before he collected the remaining blood beads. 

“Hm…” Cecil watched warily. Why did he feel the need to give him a chance? If it was anyone else he probably wouldn’t have even allowed him to accompany him. Why did he feel like he could trust this guy? 

“You ready to go? The surface isn’t far from here.” He spoke when he collected the rest of the beads. Cecil nodded silently and they moved along the path, only one way to go really. 

“There shouldn’t be that many Lost. I cleared most of them out on my way in.” the stranger spoke as they worked their way through. 

“How long does it take Lost to reform anyway?” Cecil asked as they moved. 

“Depends. Sometimes they’ll be back in a day other times it’ll take longer.” The revenant explained. 

“I see. So they could be back by now then?” he asked. 

“Possibly but I doubt all of them will be back by now.” The stranger replied. 

“Well at least I’m not in those caves anymore.” Cecil sighed. They were no longer in caves or caverns they were in ruined buildings now. More importantly the sunlight was very present now as well. 

“I know what you mean.” The stranger chuckled and Cecil smiled behind his mask as well. 

Except their moment of peace was disrupted when they heard a large crash followed by the ground under them shaking. Cecil wobbled for a bit while his companion stumbled around. 

“What the heck was that?” Cecil asked as he helped his new companion steady himself. “Was that a Lost?” 

“Perhaps. I don’t know what it could have been though. When I came through here there wasn’t anything nearly large enough to create an impact like that. Something must have shown up on the surface.” Cecil felt his heart begin to race. 

“Io…” 

“What?” 

“We have to move now.” His new companion didn’t press and took the lead at a run with him hot on his tail. 

They ran through the rest of the ruins, smashing through any straggler Lost dumb enough to try and impede them. A blast from their gifts was enough to turn all of them to ash.

As they moved through the ruins, Cecil began to hear more crashes and the ground shook even more. His worry grew since it was becoming more obvious that something was on the surface, where Io was…

“Damn it…please be okay.” He thought as he and his companion ran through the ruins. 

“The surface is just ahead, come on!” Cecil didn’t need to be told twice. 

Eventually they came to some kind of on ramp that led to the surface without any injuries at all. Now the crashing sounds were mixed in with sounds of battle. Cecil could hear the sound of metal clashing along with grunts of exertion. What caught Cecil’s attention though was a familiar looking metal bar with concrete lying on the foot of the ramp. It was dipped in blood. 

“What…” Cecil stared at it for a few moments before he heard the black haired revenant speak. 

“Some kind of fight is going on up there. We better hurry, you ready?” Cecil just nodded numbly and together they ran up the ramp to the surface. 

When they reached the top of the ramp, they came just in time to see a body slam down in front of them. Cecil scanned the body and noticed that it was the leader of his jailors. The body turned to ash right before him, but Cecil didn’t feel very sympathetic. 

Looking up at the open area, he noticed two other bodies turn to ash but more importantly there was a familiar figure standing over them. Much to Cecil’s horror, he recognized him too…

It was Oliver. He was hunched over and twitching sporadically just like that fallen revenant from before. When he turned around to face him, he saw multiple black spikes growing out of his head and his eyes were glowing red with hunger.

“No…” 

“RAHH!!!” Oliver let out a morphed roar as he lunged at him. Cecil’s shock kept him from reacting in time though… 

Suddenly the black haired revenant moved in front of Cecil and slashed Oliver across his chest before he sent a barrage of fireballs into his chest. The fallen Oliver was sent rolling across the ground roughly but the blows didn’t keep him down as he started getting up right away. 

“He was someone you knew wasn’t he?” the revenant asked as he turned his head towards Cecil. He didn’t reply but that was probably an answer in itself. 

“I’m sorry but there’s no helping him now. He’s a Lost now. Whatever you feel you need to let it go. Once a revenant becomes a Lost there’s no coming back. You must fight or die.” The stranger said as he raised his crimson blade. 

Cecil hesitated, he had just seen Oliver not too long ago but now here he was. No this wasn’t right! He recalled how he was, cheerful, optimistic and supportive. Now he was just a mindless beast like the things he had been killing. 

“But…”

In that moment he realized there was a figure lying behind Oliver, it was Io. Cecil’s eyes widened in shock, she was unconscious and he noticed several bruises on her arms and he saw red staining the side of her dress. Seeing her injured state ignited his resolve and his eyes narrowed at Oliver. Io’s safety superseded everything else…

“I will protect Io, even from you Oliver…I’m sorry.” Cecil took his sword into both hands and held it pointed towards his opponent. 

“Here he comes!” his black haired companion warned. 

Oliver roared, all traces of his normal voice practically gone. Cecil grit his teeth and sprinted towards him with his companion on his tail. Oliver swiped at them but they split up at the last moment. Cecil sent an ichor blast towards him and his companion launched another fireball. Both attacks hit and staggered Oliver. 

Then the black haired revenant teleported behind him and slashed him multiple times, drawing blood with every cut. He leapt back when Oliver tried to swipe back at him. Cecil took the opportunity to rush in and deliver a heavy slice across his back, drawing a large amount of blood. 

Oliver didn’t appreciate that and twisted around with his hands now transformed into demonic claws. Cecil grit his teeth and blocked them with his sword, holding him back. Oliver snarled at him as he tried to push him back but he held firm. 

His companion chose that moment to slash the back of Oliver’s knees, making the Lost cry out in pain and lose it’s footing. Cecil pushed him back harshly and tried to stab him in the chest but right before the blade pierced, he and his companion were both sent flying by a large torrent of dark red energy. 

“Rahhh!!!” Cecil grunted as he skid across the ground but he managed to work himself to his feet. 

When he looked up he saw that Oliver had changed. He didn’t even look remotely normal anymore. He had changed fully into a Lost now. He was three times the size he used to be, his skin was blackened and his muscles were bulged out ridiculously with a very wide fame and the purifier mask had become a part of the head and turned into a pig like shape. It was also now holding a huge two-handed hammer that was a lot taller than Cecil.

“Watch it! He’s a full Lost now!” his companion shouted. Cecil didn’t need to be told twice. 

He dove past the Lost as it slammed its hammer where he had been, creating a large impact. Then Cecil activated the gift he learned with Cruz and felt his body empower itself as he lunged and delivered a clean cut across the Lost’s thick back. He drew blood but the blow didn’t slow down the Lost at all. 

He narrowly leaned out of the Lost’s wild swing before he had to backflip to dodge the hammer again. His companion threw a fireball at the Lost, nailing it in the head, momentarily distracting it from Cecil. Seeing the opening, Cecil launched his own blast, firing his ichor blast off at the thing’s head but unlike before the Lost just took the blow despite it impacting and exploding directly on its head. When the smoke cleared the Lost’s two glowing red eyes glared directly at Cecil. 

“Shit…” Cecil barely dodged the Lost’s wide swing and he had to use his sword to slide under the next one. 

“He’s not the only one you’re fighting!” right on queue his companion teleported above the Lost and slashed down on its shoulder, creating a deep gash with his crimson blade. 

The Lost roared in pain and sent a wild swing back but the revenant dodged it before launching another round of fireballs at it. Cecil chose that moment to slash out one of the Lost’s knees, forcing it down but that didn’t stop it from swinging its hammer at him wildly. He was unable to dodge the counterattack so he had to raise his sword up to tank the blow. 

The hammer clashed with his sword with a loud bang, sending him skidding across the ground, his arms rattled along with his mind. His sword had also been chipped multiple times from that strike. It would be next to useless after the fight at this rate. 

“Keep hitting it! It can’t take damage forever!” the black haired revenant shouted. 

“Right…we just need to hit it harder then…” Cecil activated his regeneration to heal the damage his arms took. Then he activated his gift that strengthened his blows.

“Here goes!” he sprinted towards the Lost. It was distracted by his companion so it didn’t notice him until he impaled his sword right into its back, making it growl in pain before it quickly turned to attack him. 

Unfortunately Cecil had to let go of his sword to avoid being hit but when he ducked, the Lost punted him with one of its legs. He barely brought his arms up to take the brunt of the blow but it still sent him reeling across the area, slamming onto his back. 

“Ugh!” Cecil coughed a bit before he kicked himself onto his feet. He activated his regeneration again and this time he could feel that he wasn’t going to be able to regenerate much more. 

The Lost was currently going after his companion again, who was dodging and deflecting his attacks while dealing some of his own when he was able. He wasn’t going to be able to do that forever though since the Lost wasn’t slowing down and the revenant’s movements slowed with every move albeit slowly. 

“Got to do something.” His eyes searched the Lost for some weakness. Despite damaging its knee, it was still moving around jut fine albeit clumsily. The damage done to its head and body was apparent but it still wasn’t slowing down. They had to deal a decisive blow. 

“Maybe…” Cecil’s eyes landed on his sword, still impaled in the Lost. Before he could ponder though his companion made a misstep and ended up blocking the full brunt of a strike instead of deflecting it. 

“Ah!” his companion’s guard was broken. Before it could follow up though, Cecil struck. 

“Here goes!” he charged forward, raising his hand to fire a weaker ichor bolt at his sword. His aim was true and his blast shot his sword clean through the Lost’s chest, finally creating a fatal wound. 

“Rah!!!” the Lost cried out in pain as blood spurted from the large wound. It fell to its knees in pain, its weapon falling from its grasp. 

“Catch!” Cecil barely recognized his sword coming towards him. He leapt into the air and caught it by the handle before he activated his strengthening gift once again. 

The Lost saw him coming but before it could try to rise again, the black haired revenant sank his sword deep into its other leg, immobilizing it for another moment. That moment was all Cecil needed though. He came down hard and slashed down with all his might, severing the Lost’s head from its shoulders in one clean stroke as he landed. 

“Rest in peace.” Cecil thought as the Lost began to turn to ash. He didn’t spend much time mourning though.

“Io!” he ran towards the unmoving girl and slid to crouch next to her. He carefully picked her up and he sighed in relief when he felt her shift. The wounds on her made him worried though so he lifted her up rather easily and carried her over to the mistle that he had seen up there earlier.

“Here, Io. This should help.” He felt better when he was around a mistle so it should help Io too. He took his mask off and bit his wrist again and let a few drops of his blood fall onto the mistle, activating it. He heard a startled gasp from his the revenant behind him but he didn’t bother with that.

“Io?” he asked as he held her head against his chest, gently. He gently took her mask off of her so he could check to see if she had suffered any injuries to her head.

“Easy there. She didn’t turn to ash.” His companion mused and Cecil flushed slightly in embarrassment. 

“I know…” he wanted to make sure regardless however. 

“Mm…” his eyes went down to the woman in his arms and he saw her gold eyes open up and peer at him. 

“Io…” he sighed in relief at seeing her awake. He was happy that she was safe especially after what happened with Oliver. 

“Are you okay?” she asked and Cecil laughed at the rather absurd question. 

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking that.” He chided and the white clad woman seemed a bit embarrassed by that remark as she turned her gaze away.

“Sorry for worrying you.” She mumbled and he shook his head. This was going to be normal apparently. 

“That’s what friends do.” Yes...he could call her that now. “Did those guys do anything to you while I was down there?” he asked. 

“No.” she shook her head. “I believe they were going to kill you the moment they saw you, even if you came with blood beads. They made a remark about you not coming back alive. I was about to run down to warn you when that fallen revenant leapt up from the hole they pushed you in. I was knocked out by one of the attacks.” 

“Are you in pain?” Cecil asked, looking at the blood staining her clothes. 

“I have regenerated now. The mistle’s light is restoring my energy as well.” She answered. 

“Well don’t force yourself to move.” He cautioned. He reached into his pack and pulled out one of the blood beads he had. 

“Are you thirsty?” he asked but Io pushed the bead away gently. 

“Not right now…but thank you.” Cecil felt like he should push it but he would trust her for now. He turned towards the black haired revenant who was still watching them. 

“She’ll be okay in a bit. Can you wait that long?” he still wasn’t sure about him but Io’s safety came first. This guy was his best shot at that for now. 

“I heard.” The revenant nodded. “We’ll let your friend rest until she can move on her own. I have a place we can go. Now that you activated that mistle we’ll be able to reach it in an instant.” 

“Very well.” He turned back to his pack and placed the bead back inside. 

“Please! Let us keep them this once!” 

Cecil instinctively went for his sword and pulled Io to him protectively. The woman gasped gently but he didn’t pay her too much mind. He was on guard because that voice belonged to someone who was no longer with them. 

“Was that…Oliver? No it can’t be…” Cecil looked towards the place he killed Oliver to see some kind of purple and red crystal. It was giving off a bright glow. He stared at it intently as if it was drawing him in.

“Without blood beads we won’t make it!” 

“Careful!” Cecil blinked and turned to the black haired revenant. 

“That thing is a vestige.” The revenant sighed before he shook his head. “Those are fragments of the Lost, left behind when they pass on or if a revenant loses a particularly important piece of memory when they die. They turn anyone who touches them into Lost themselves though. Stay away from it and don’t listen to it.” 

Cecil listened to him and he tried to turn away from it and tend back to Io but he felt this pull in the back of his mind. Like his very soul was drawn to it. He looked back at the crystal again and he felt his resistance to go to it withering. He felt his vision tint red but not in the same way when he was going through frenzy. It felt more like an instinct…

“…Go to it…” he heard Io whisper. Upon hearing the woman’s approval the last of his resistance snapped and he left Io’s side carefully. He went up to the crystal and reached for it.

“What are you doing?!” Cecil ignored the cry of the black haired revenant as he reached for the crystal.

“No! Don’t touch it!” too late. Cecil’s hand grasped the crystal and he held it up for a moment. Then dozens of spikes shot out from the crystal, impaling his hand. 

“Ah!!!” Cecil cried out in pain as the crystal suddenly started pouring energy into him. He could literally see and feel the red energy emitting from the crystal into his hand.

“Drop it before it swallows you whole!” he heard but it was far too late for that. 

“It’s okay…” he felt Io take his other hand. He looked at her golden eyes staring at him imploringly. 

“You can do it. Focus…you are stronger than that crystal.” She stated. 

Cecil wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do but Io’s words gave him resolve to keep himself from falling. He focused back on the crystal and clenched his hand around it. The red energy stopped suddenly and was pushed back by blue energy. His vision tinted blue as he forced the crystal to “heel”. Then white light flowed from the crystal until it took up all his vision. 

“What the hell!?” he heard the black haired revenant cry out before the light engulfed everything.

\---

“Huh?!” Cecil blinked as he found himself in some kind of dark void. He was standing on something but he wasn’t sure what. 

“What is this?! Where are we?!” Cecil looked to his sides to see Io and the black haired revenant standing beside him. 

“No clue…” Cecil really had no idea. 

“Please let us keep them this once!” Cecil’s eyes snapped forward as he saw what looked like Oliver kneeling before two revenants. Those revenants were different though, they were wearing full armor and they had full-face masks like helmets with hooded cloaks. They looked like knights but modernized. 

“All revenant covens outside sanctioned shelters must pay the levy.” One of the knights spoke. Cecil saw him take a bag full of what must have been blood beads from Oliver. The poor guy fell onto his hands in despair as the knight turned away. Then the knight hesitated for just a moment.

“I’m sorry.” He said before the scene disappeared. Cecil felt his heart ache and burn at the same time. Why did those bastards do that? Who were those people? Were they the Cerberus people that he heard about? They were talking about the levy system. It seemed they would collect the “tax” even if it meant leaving revenants to thirst. Cecil instantly felt a bit of distaste for them. Why was he seeing this though?

“We’re watching that Lost’s memories.” The black haired revenant spoke in awe. 

“Oliver’s memories…” Cecil thought sadly. He felt like he shouldn’t be here, it felt wrong to be watching this. 

“It’s okay.” He felt Io take his hand and he turned to see her giving him an actual smile, the first one he had seen on her in all the time he had known her. 

“Don’t be sad. Please watch.” she implored. He nodded slowly and she smiled again. She didn’t release his hand though and he didn’t release hers. He turned back towards his front just as something else appeared. 

“Darn it!” The next scene that came up was of Oliver watching a small child, a little boy wandering through the streets. The alarming thing was that the child was surrounded by Lost. 

“Mommy! Daddy!” the child cried out. Much to Cecil’s horror he saw Oliver turn away from the child as the Lost closed in on him. 

“Mommy!! Dadd-ah!!!!” Cecil shuddered as he heard the sound of flesh being torn apart along with the child’s blood curdling screams as the Lost feasted on him. That was not something he would be forgetting anytime soon… 

“…” Io squeezed his hand gently and he returned it. 

“Gods…” he heard the black haired revenant gag.

“I’m so sorry…” Oliver whimpered as he came upon a bloodspring that only had one blood bead on it. 

“Sacrifices have to be made. Without blood beads we won’t make it!” Oliver sounded so haunted, so unlike the cheerful person Cecil had gotten to know in the caves. 

“What did you do, Oliver?” Cecil thought as the vision disappeared. 

“You understand what this is don’t you?” Cecil recognized the voice of the lead revenant that had captured him and Io. 

The next vision that appeared was of his former jailors surrounding Oliver. The leader was sitting above it all like that somehow made him superior. Oliver was on his knees while the guards were standing next to him with their blades under his chin like he was on some kind of trial. This must have been when he was taken captive by the group.

“What humans remain are under Silva’s control. That leaves the rest of us wandering revenants with no other option but to search for blood beads at the risk of a permanent death…or becoming Lost.” The leader spoke before he hopped down from his perch so he was standing in front of Oliver. 

“Silva’s levy system forces us to give up a portion of our supply. Naturally that means there aren’t enough blood beads to go around…some revenants must be…sacrificed to ensure the survival of the group…” the leader didn’t sound too guilty about what he was implying. 

“You understand what I’m saying thrall?” the leader leaned down so he was in Oliver’s face. 

“I do…” Oliver sounded defeated but resigned. Cecil didn’t need to be a genius to know what he must have done while in the service of those revenants. 

“Good. Prove yourself loyal and I might keep you around. Make sure you don’t end up on my bad side either or you’ll be on the expendable block.” The leader said as he turned away without a care in the world. 

“Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to survive…” Oliver muttered before the vision disappeared. 

“Disgusting.” Cecil heard his black haired companion speak. He couldn’t agree more. 

At the same time he wondered if that person he met in the tunnel really was the “real” Oliver. Was his positive attitude just an act to get him to lower his guard around him so that he could attack him in the back later? No…maybe at first but after he saw what he could do maybe he had a change of heart…maybe. 

“Ugh…” Cecil’s attention was brought back to his front as another vision appeared. This one was familiar to him; it was where he last saw Oliver when he was himself. When his mask was ruptured and he had to leave him behind. 

“I guess this is what I get…you reap what you sow right? No heroic last act, no final death just an eternity as a Lost…” Oliver spoke weakly. Cecil winced at the pain he was in despite his conflicted feelings on him. 

“Sacrifices have to be made right? I’ve been doing that my whole time as a revenant. Now at the end I’m on the other end…how fitting.” Oliver chuckled despite the obvious pain he was in. 

“Still…at least one of us made it. Cecil…your power will change the world I’m sure…heh maybe I did get to fulfill a last heroic act. Uh….I hope you and your friend change the world for the…better…” Oliver’s voice trailed off as he suddenly let out a loud scream.

“Uh-Ahhhh!” the vision cut away as the frenzy began to take hold of him. 

“…” Cecil winced from seeing the moments right before he succumbed to frenzy but the warmth of Io’s hand helped calm him. She had actually held his hand the whole time now, that realization made him flush a bit but not much. 

“So he came through in the end…” the black haired revenant spoke but Cecil didn’t respond.

“Is it finished?” he asked no one in particular. In response a set of stone doors appeared in front of them. 

“Seems so…” Io spoke. 

The doors opened up slowly and the same white light from before emerged behind the doors. As the light began to overtake Cecil’s senses again he spoke one last thing.

“Rest peacefully…” 

\---

When Cecil’s senses came back to him he found himself back in the ruined city right where he was before he entered that strange place. Io was still close to him and the black haired revenant was standing there as well though he was on his knees now. 

“…” Cecil looked at his hand to see that the vestige was just gone. The blue energy that had “beat” it began to dissipate before it was gone entirely. He also felt…strange like he had gained something from that vestige but he wasn’t sure what. Casting that aside though he turned back to Io who was still holding onto him and he squeezed her hand gently. 

“Thank you.” He said simply and Io seemed surprised before she tilted her head in confusion.

“Your thanks is not necessary.” She spoke quickly, breaking her usual monotone.

“What…what the heck was that?” Cecil turned back to the third member of their little group as he stood back up.

“We saw the memories of that Lost…” he spoke again like he could barely believe it. 

“That was a shard of memory.” Io spoke, her tone returning to its usual level. “It was left by the Lost you both defeated. It gives sight to its past through that vestige.” 

“I see…” the black haired revenant looked at Cecil this time. “I didn’t think that you would be able to actually handle that vestige. Let alone drag both of us into it with you.”

“Yes…it seems we were both brought in since we were close to him when he unlocked it.” Io spoke as she finally released Cecil’s hand. Yet she stayed close to him. 

“Well that settles it then.” The black haired revenant spoke with clarity. 

“Settles what?” Cecil asked. 

“I want you to join me.” The revenant spoke as he removed his mask. “My name is Louis Amamiya. I’m researching blood beads.” 

“Researching?” that sounded odd. 

“Yes. They appeared after the Queen was defeated years ago but no one knows where they came from or where the source is.” Louis explained. “With your powers I think I can finally make some progress in finding out more about them.” 

“I see…so you want my powers to help with your research?” Cecil got a little defensive now. Louis had aided him when he could have left him but he did have something to get out of this. 

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Louis quickly raised his hands in a nonthreatening manner. “Please I am asking for your help. This could help everyone in Vein.” 

“Hm…” He sounded sincere enough but there was one thing that had to be brought up.

“What about Io?” if she couldn’t come then there was no deal at all. 

“She can come with us of course. My group isn’t like the one that captured you guys. I promise they won’t be any threat to either of you.” Louis pleaded. 

“Io, what do you think?” Cecil turned to Io. 

“I think we can trust him.” She spoke as she looked up at him again. “He doesn’t seem like the others.” 

“Hm…” Cecil had to concede that point. In the time he’d known him, Louis had been respectful and helpful. He thought the same of Oliver though until he saw the vestige. No…that was unfair of him; Oliver had taken the fall for him at the end of the day. This man wasn’t Oliver either. 

“Very well Louis. We’ll go with you and listen to what you have to say at least. Then we’ll decide.” Cecil reached out and shook the man’s hand.

“Thank you. I promise you that you won’t regret this.” Louis said gratefully. 

“I hope so…” he had this odd feeling that he was missing something but he had no idea what. 

“Lets get going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So does anyone know how to put pictures in here? I see some writers do it and I figure some readers might want to see a picture of what Cecil looks like. 
> 
> Also is there a way to put lines in or am I stuck just putting those three dashes as a divider?


	4. The Plead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok everyone here you go. This is the last of my chapters that were already written. So after this the updates will be a bit slower. Hopefully not too slow. Just have patience please.
> 
> Also if you guys are looking for more Code Vein stories check out Queen's Heir by VaranFall. Their story actually helped give me the push I needed to make this one.
> 
> Anyway enjoy!

“It’s worse than I thought…” Cecil muttered as he looked out over the city. 

After accepting Louis’s offer, the group had departed from the ruins rather quickly. Louis had been pretty adamant about that since they didn’t know if the revenants that captured Cecil and Io were turned into ash for good or they just had a “normal” death. Cecil agreed completely and put up no arguments. 

Though the method of their transportation was rather odd. Apparently mistles could also be used as ways to get from once place to another. That had been a very interesting travel. It surprised Cecil very much when they suddenly appeared in the place Louis was using as a base. Cecil and Io had gone out to the balcony of the base rather quickly to see what was out there. They had a full view of the city and it was not pleasant. 

The entire city was wrecked to put it lightly. The buildings were all damaged or piles of rubble. Those black spikes that Cecil had seen before were everywhere. It’s like they just sprouted out of the ground randomly and caused ruin wherever they came up. Even the building that he was in now had one of those spikes in it. There were also random flares of fire from explosions, probably revenants fighting Lost. The final thing noteworthy was the wall of red mist in the distance.

“Not a pleasant sight huh?” Cecil turned around to see Louis without his blood veil. 

“A bit of an understatement.” He responded and Louis chuckled hollowly. 

“I suppose so.” He leaned against the “railing”. “Those black spikes are the Thorns of Judgment. They came up during the Great Collapse but they didn’t cause the whole city to turn into ruins. That happened during the war against the Queen.” 

“The Queen…” Cecil looked down at his tattered blood veil for a moment before he returned his gaze back to the city.

“After she was defeated the red mist was created. It’s been ten years and still no one knows how or why it appeared.” Cecil perked up at this.

“It’s been that long and nothing has changed?” Ten years? Assuming Cecil had been “dead” ever since the Queen was killed that meant he would have been “dead” for ten years. That was a shuddering thought. Well…best worry about that later, it wasn’t like he could remember anyway… 

“Unfortunately it’s just as you said. Eventually people began to call this place the Gaol of the Mists or the Vein. What we do know about that mist is that it’s completely made up of miasma so intense that it’ll turn any revenant into a Lost almost immediately. Trust me, I’ve seen many try it and it never ends well. Even Lost can’t get past it.” Louis continued explaining.

“Even our masks won’t protect us?” Cecil asked as he lifted his mask up. They had taken them off since the mistle in the base kept the air pure enough for them to walk around without them.

“Unfortunately even those don’t work on that mist. Whatever the reason was, that mist keeps all of us in, revenant or Lost. Humans too.” Louis sighed.

“So there are still humans in Vein?” Cecil had heard about them of course but he had not seen one yet. 

“Yes there are still a few. Nowhere near as many as there was before the collapse or even before Queenslayer but humans still exist. You likely won’t see any though because Silva has them all kept in shelters guarded safely by Cerberus.” Louis explained. 

“So Cerberus isn’t bad then?” from the way Cecil heard everyone talk about them, they sounded like nothing more than bad news. 

“Heh no not really. One of the people you’ll meet soon is actually one of them. Honestly the dislike towards them is similar to the dislike people had against tax collectors.” Louis joked and Cecil scoffed slightly. 

“Still, the levy system in place has made things tough.” Louis shifted a bit from his place. “At first it was fine, the tax of a few blood beads every few weeks was manageable. The government even gave out some human blood from the shelters.” 

“Until the springs started drying up.” Cecil continued and Louis nodded to his point. 

“Yeah. The bloodsprings do generally grow but they’ve been taking a long time lately. Too long to satisfy the thirst of every revenant and fulfill the levy. The humans that are under the government’s protection can only give so much blood so often too.” Yes that sounds like a recipe for disaster. 

“That’s why groups like the one that took me and Io prisoner exist now.” Cecil guessed and again Louis nodded. 

“They always did exist. Not every revenant is good at heart after all. They’re just more numerous now because people have chosen to bend their morals in order to survive.” That was a sadly realistic viewpoint. Cecil couldn’t find it in himself to disagree. 

“So where is everyone else? This place seems a bit too big for just you.” Cecil asked. 

The base was an old church though it did not look like a church on the inside anymore. There was a vault full of weapons on one section. Then there was a fully stocked bar across from that. The area close to the balcony was some kind of living room like area. There was also a full car in there that wasn’t scrap. How that got in there, Cecil had no clue. 

“The others are on the way. I just woke them up. Before that though I huh…you know I don’t think you actually gave me your name yet.” Louis pointed out and Cecil shrugged. 

“Right. My name is Cecil.” Louis tilted his head at that. 

“Really?” Cecil gave him a deadpanned look. 

“Yes, why?” Louis held his hands up in a calming gesture. 

“Sorry, it’s just a unique name.” Louis explained and Cecil shrugged. 

“It’s about the only thing I actually can remember. I don’t know much else aside from what I learned while I’ve been awake.” Louis frowned at his explanation. 

“I see. That’s a rare case. Even then I’ve never really heard of anyone losing all their memory from one death.” Louis looked thoughtful for a moment. “Does Io know about your past?” 

“No.” Io answered automatically as she turned towards them. “I found him out in the city about two days before he awoke.”

“Oh!” Louis sounded surprised for some reason and then he looked a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Just from the way you two act around each other I…” 

“Yes?” Cecil asked when he didn’t continue. Io was staring at the their host expectantly as well. 

“Um it’s nothing.” Louis said sheepishly, something that was odd to Cecil since he was usually so composed. A part of him wanted to press but at the same time he felt like he was better not knowing. 

“What were you going to ask me before you asked about my name?” Cecil asked, deciding to allow the subject to change. 

“Ah yes!” Louis snapped his fingers. “I would like to take a sample of your blood.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. You have the ability to reactivate bloodsprings, mistles and withstand the power of vestiges. I think you might have something else inside your blood too.” Louis explained. Seeing his hesitation he elaborated a bit more. 

“Relax I only need a little bit, nothing that will cause you to go into a frenzy.” He produced a small vial from one of the pouches on his belt. 

“Very well.” Cecil relented as he held his hand out for the vial. Louis looked surprised by the gesture but he placed the vial in his hand without a comment. 

Cecil pulled his sleeve back and used his teeth to make a small cut on his finger. Then he held the vial over the wound and let his blood drip into it. When the vial was almost full he forced his regeneration to heal the wound. 

“Is this enough?” he asked as he held the vial out to him. 

“Yes more than enough, thank you.” Louis gratefully took the vial from him. Cecil’s ears perked when he heard some footsteps coming from inside the church but he didn’t see anyone. 

“Ah looks like the others are out now.” Louis commented; he had heard them too. “Look this sample will take a while to analyze. How about you and Io go introduce yourselves to everyone while I do this.” 

“Anyone in particular we should talk to?” Cecil asked. 

“Well you should meet all of them just so they know you. Talk to Coco and Murasame though, they’ll be the ones to set you up with some new gear.” Louis said. 

Cecil looked at his blood veil and his clothes and winced a bit. Io wasn’t in a much better place. Their clothes weren’t in a terrible shape of course due to their regeneration extending to their clothing apparently but they were still very worn looking, especially Cecil’s blood veil and Io’s dress. Next to Louis they looked like they just came off the street. Even though that was technically true it still made him uncomfortable. 

“Right…” Cecil sighed. Louis gave him a small smile before he went back inside. 

“Come on Io, let’s go see our new uh…roommates I guess.” Cecil said. Io silently nodded and followed him back inside the church. 

After going back inside the main interior, Cecil noted the new people that were not there when he first arrived. There was one woman sitting on the car. There was another woman working at what must have been the armory. There was also one man out and about as well aside from Louis who was sitting at one of the desks. He stuck out more to Cecil then the others because he had his eyes on the pair the moment they walked in. 

Cecil shifted in front of Io on instinct and carefully ushered her over to the woman on the car. He could feel that guy’s eyes on them the whole time though. 

“Hm.” The woman at the car looked at them in a bored manner as they approached. “I don’t recognize you two. Louis must have stuck his head in someone else’s business again.” 

Despite the words she used, Cecil didn’t hear any resentment or disapproval. She sounded neutral like she was just making an observation as if this was a normal thing for her. 

“I guess you could say that.” Cecil said. 

“Heh…” the woman got off the car and stood up for them. “Well I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Coco, last name doesn’t matter so don’t ask.” 

Coco was a young woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties but if revenants didn’t age, Cecil wondered if she was actually older. The woman stood about a few inches shorter than Cecil but taller than Io. She was pale like Io was with pale blonde hair that she kept tucked away in her hat. She had piercing blue eyes as well that stared at the pair like a hawk. She wore a rather provocative outfit that made Io’s state look tame. She had a top that showed off her midriff and arms while she wore some kind of full leggings with shorts. 

“I’m Cecil, no last name either.” Cecil introduced before he motioned towards Io. “And this is Io.” 

“Hello.” Io said simply. Coco gave them a look over before she spoke. 

“So Louis probably told you but I’m the one who deals with supplies here. You won’t find a more reliable merchant anywhere in the Vein either, trust me on that. Louis and his group know that so they let me keep most of my stocks here.” She said confidently. Looking closer, Cecil could see a bunch of supplies stacked up around the car, all hers presumably. 

“Yes. Louis told us you could supply us.” Cecil agreed. “We are in need of some new gear.” 

“Not surprised. You both look like you haven’t been able to maintain your stuff.” Coco noted. 

“You two new revenants? No wait you’re from the Operation aren’t you?” Coco sounded interested now as she looked at Cecil. 

“I guess. I don’t remember much.” Cecil answered. 

“I don’t recall much either.” Io also offered and that made Cecil think. Why did she find him and stay with him if she didn’t remember anything? Questions for later perhaps. 

“Ah I see. That’s a bit unusual to remember nothing. You two must have either gotten killed a lot or your last deaths were especially harsh.” Coco commented. 

“You two aren’t the only ones like that. He isn’t here right now but Davis doesn’t remember anything from his past life at all.” Coco compared. Was that supposed to be the Cerberus Operative that Louis mentioned? If so then that was an interesting bit of information. 

“Well anyway.” Coco cleared her throat. “Now that the introductions are out of the way, we can do some business. I deal in general supplies like cures for poison and stimulants. If you want weapons and armor you’ll have to go ask Murasame.” 

“Do you have any clothes that you could sell us?” he asked. 

“Sure hang on. Let me just find the things that fit you two.” Coco went off to some of her bags and began pulling some things out. Then she began laying them across the car. After a few minutes she stopped. 

“There that should be everything that will fit you two. Go ahead and look.” Coco said. 

“Right…” Cecil turned to Io and nodded towards the clothes. Slowly she went up to the clothes and began looking through them.

“Hm…now what should I get.” Cecil thought as he looked at the piles of clothes. He thought about getting something similar to what he was currently wearing but he decided against it after he saw something that stuck out to him. 

It was a white or grey type of outfit. It was a mixture of cloth and some armored protection. The protection was nothing that would stop a Lost but enough protection to keep him safe from the elements at least and maybe some glancing blows. 

“How much is this?” he asked as he picked it out. Coco looked at the clothes he picked out for a moment. 

“That’s an interesting choice considering your current attire. Here hold out your hand.” he was a bit confused by the question but he did as she asked. Her hand clasped around his and he felt her pulling something form him, wait was that his haze? 

“There we go.” Coco let go of him after a moment. “I went ahead and took enough haze to cover whatever your girlfriend picks out too.” 

“Mm…” Cecil felt his cheeks flush a bit. “We’re not…together like that.” 

“Of course. I was just teasing you two.” Coco said slyly and Cecil grumbled about annoyance before he put his clothes in his pack. When he looked towards Io she was staring at him with a confused expression. 

“Did you find anything yet, Io?” he asked, getting his cheeks under control. 

“Yes. I believe I have.” Io spoke in her usual manner before she picked something up. It was another white dress like her own but not torn up. 

“I find this satisfactory.” 

“Go ahead and take it. Your boyfriend already paid for it.” Coco said offhanded. Cecil sighed at the remark, feeling his cheeks heat up again. Io looked uncomfortable as well.

“Come on Io…lets go see the other merchant.” Cecil said simply as he grabbed Io’s hand and led her away from the woman. He heard Coco chuckle behind them but he ignored it. 

\---

The walk to the armory was short but at least it got them away from Coco for the moment. Cecil saw all the weapons on display on metal racks. It was a large assortment of weapons actually from swords to polearms to bayonets. They were all in excellent condition as well, clean as well from Cecil’s point of view. 

The front desk of the armory was a large table in front of a literal vault, the same one he saw when he first arrived. There was a large number of supplies in there, all pertaining to weapons no doubt along with whatever else the group valued. They probably kept their blood beads in there actually. 

There was no one behind the desk but he could hear someone rummaging around in the vault. 

“Hello?” he called. 

“Coming!” a cheerful voice shouted from the vault. After a few moments a small statured girl came out of the vault with a box in her hands. 

“Oh!” she put the box on the ground and came up to the desk quickly. “You two must be the new guys Louis found! I’m Rin Murasame it’s a pleasure to meet you!” 

Rin looked young but she was likely a bit older than she looked. Still she was small, being shorter than both Cecil and Io. She had long orange hair in a ponytail with brown eyes and a fair complexion. She wore a light outfit consisting of a jacket over a small top along with leggings and shorts. She had some kind of tattoo on her side but what it meant was beyond Cecil. Also for some reason she was also wearing her mask despite the mistle in the base. 

“My name is Cecil.” The white haired revenant introduced himself before gesturing towards Io. “This is Io”

“Greetings.” Io spoke simply like always. 

“Louis said you two have been through a bit of a tough time.” Rin didn’t seem put off by their less than energetic response. 

“That’s one way to put it.” Cecil winced a little at the memory. 

“Hey don’t worry about it.” Rin waved it off. “Any revenant would have a hard time out there. The city is full of crazy monsters and rogue revenants. Don’t feel bad about feeling the weight of it.” 

“Not exactly the only problem I’m having.” Cecil thought. He was still trying to process everything that was going on. Coco’s little teasing threw him off a bit too.

“You okay?” Rin asked, bringing Cecil out of his thoughts. 

“Yes. Sorry, I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything still. I don’t remember anything and it’s all just so sudden.” He explained. 

“No, don’t worry about it.” Rin shook her head. “Louis mentioned that don’t remember much. Trust me when I say everyone here understands the feeling.” 

“I see. Thank you.” He said sincerely. 

“Don’t worry about it. Now then, how about we get to business? You came here for some gear right? Specifically a new blood veil and a weapon?” Rin asked, excitedly. 

“Yes. Our stuff is in a bit of a sorry state.” Cecil said as he looked at his blood veil. 

“I’ll say. What made that?” Rin pointed at the hole in his blood veil. “Blood veils are made to withstand almost anything. They’re supposed to regenerate like we do.” 

“I can’t say…” Cecil shrugged as he covered the hole for a moment. 

“That’s where your heart is too…” Rin pointed out. Cecil nodded, he was aware of that too. It was disturbing to think about. 

“You were in Queenslayer right?” she asked. 

“Seems like it. Everyone says this is what they wore.” 

“Hm…maybe you were taken out by the queen herself or one of her elite Lost.” Rin commented. “That could explain why you lost so many memories. She must have attacked your heart but you survived just barely. Maybe you’ve been trying to reform all this time?” 

“Maybe...” Cecil didn’t say much more on that matter.

“Well what matters is you’re still alive and you’re safe.” Rin boasted. 

“Yes. You’re right.” Whatever his past was, he would deal with it if it came up. If not then he would just have to deal with it.

“Well I should pro-oh wait that’s right!” she ducked under her desk and produced two purifier masks. “Take these!” 

“Purifier masks?” Cecil asked as he took one of them while Io took the other. They were similar models to the ones they currently had but not damaged or dusty, in fact they looked new. 

“Louis told me that you guys have some really out of date masks. Those are new models and well maintained. Trust me they’ll feel a lot better than the ones you’re using currently.” Rin promised. 

“Very well, thank you.” Cecil nodded.

“Yes, thank you…” Io spoke gently. Rin must have smiled under her mask since her eyes lit up. 

“Right well I think I should get you a weapon now.” Rin looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she went up to the weapon racks and hefted a large assortment of weapons, far more than a girl her size should have been able to carry. 

“Here pick from these!” Cecil and Io both jumped slightly as a large number of weapons were dropped right in front of them. Rin should not have been able to do that! 

“Heh. Being a revenant makes handling weapons a lot simpler.” Rin joked, apparently reading his thoughts. Thinking on it, he had been carrying enough things that would have weighed a normal person down but he barely felt it. During his fight against Oliver he kept his pack on the whole time yet he was still able to leap and roll normally. 

“Right…so what is this going to cost me?” he asked before he started messing with the weapons. 

“Well you’re going to be joining us and you really need an upgrade so how about nothing?” Cecil blinked in surprise. 

“If you feel that bad about it consider those blood beads you and Louis brought back as payment. We rarely get that many in one haul.” Rin explained. 

“I see…” considering that Cecil was going to be working with them he decided to just give them the blood beads he was carrying. He gave them six of the nine he picked. He kept three of them in case he and Io had to leave in a hurry. 

“Well go on, pick something.” Rin prodded and Cecil looked at the weapons. 

“Hm…” he looked over and saw Io staring at one of the polearms. 

“You thinking of getting something Io?” he asked and she turned towards him with a confused expression. 

“No…I’m not much of a fighter I’m afraid.” She spoke in her usual manner. Cecil detected a bit of shame in her voice though.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not really a fighter either.” Rin commented. “I take care of all the weapons and blood veils but I don’t fight. I leave that to Louis, Yakumo and now your friend.” 

“I see…” Io commented before she went silent again. If Cecil didn’t know how she spoke he would have thought she was being rude. 

“So do you see anything you like, Cecil?” Rin turned her attention back to him since Io wasn’t speaking. 

“Hm…” Cecil eyed one of the broadswords. It was similar to the one he picked up from the Lost but it was in pristine condition. 

“Feels better than the other one…” he turned and gave the sword a few swings before he gave it a small flourish with his wrist. 

“That sword is a bit heavy for its type. Doesn’t hit quite as hard as a true two handed sword but it’s faster.” Rin commented as he tested the blade. 

“Hm…something feels wrong.” He thought as he swung the sword. It felt better in his hand but he felt like something was missing. Maybe if the blade was made a bit longer.

“I don’t suppose you could make this blade a bit longer could you?” he voiced his thoughts as he turned back towards Rin. 

“Huh? Well yeah I could but I need some materials. The stuff I keep in the vault is used for creating not modifying. That way I can always keep us stocked for emergencies.” Rin explained. 

“Could you use the materials from this?” he asked as he placed the old sword he got from the underground on the table. 

“Oh, one of the Lost swords huh?” Rin wrinkled her nose as she picked the blade. She examined it a few times before she shook her head. “No, I could lengthen the handle and get some metal from this but not enough to accomplish what you asked.” 

Cecil sighed in annoyance. Then he recalled something that he got from the underground as well. He reached into his pack and pulled out the strange metal he found.

“Would this work?” he asked and Rin’s eyes widened. 

“That’s Queen Iron,” she sounded surprised. “It’s what all revenant weapons are made of at least on a base level. I’m surprised you found this. It’s not uncommon but it’s not easy to come across it, especially in this amount.” 

“So it’ll work then.” He stated and Rin nodded. 

“Yeah that should be more than enough to work on your sword.” She carefully took the metal from him and his chosen sword. 

“This will take a bit. How about you go and get changed. There are some rooms in the back. Just take the ones that don’t have names on them. We can pick out your blood veil when you get back.” Rin said as she took the materials back into the vault. He heard some things fall over followed by some curses from Rin but he figured that was normal since no one said anything or came over to check. 

Cecil looked towards Io who was gazing around the place now. She seemed rather overwhelmed actually like she was trying to figure out how everything worked. It made him feel a little happy that he wasn’t the only one who needed to adapt. 

“Io.” She turned towards him with a tilt of her head and he nodded towards the back. 

“Come on, lets go see if our new things fit.” He said and she nodded without a word or complaint. 

Together they went towards the back of the base like Rin said. Though it was hard to ignore the guy on the couch. He was still staring at them and Cecil felt his gaze the whole time until they passed into the dormitory section of the base. 

There were quite a few rooms, more than Cecil expected. He saw the rooms belonging to Louis and someone named Yakumo. He also saw rooms belonging to Coco and Rin. His attention was drawn to the rooms without names though. There were four of them and likely more downstairs. He chose the two that were next to each other. 

“Here Io.” He led her to one of the empty rooms. “Go ahead and change into your new dress. You can leave it here too. I think these will be our rooms from now on.”

“Very well.” She replied as she went into the room. She gave the place a look before she started taking her blood veil off. Then Cecil quickly closed the door when he realized she wasn’t going to do it. 

“That girl…” he sighed. Sometimes she was insightful and other times she was oblivious. 

“Better get changed too. Knowing my luck she’ll probably just open the door without thinking…” he sighed as he entered the room next to hers. 

\---

Cecil pulled on his gloves before he tightened the laces on his boots. Then he stamped them a bit to make sure his feet were comfortable. Then he shrugged his shoulders and his joints to make sure his clothes weren’t too tight anywhere. 

He had chosen a white outfit to replace the black he had been wearing. The material felt tough like leather but it wasn’t quite like that. It was clearly made for combat though since he had metal plates for his boots and one over his chest. 

He didn’t don his blood veil, having thrown it onto the desk in the room. His old clothes were thrown into one of the drawers to be forgotten. It wasn’t like he could remember anything about them so best to let it go so he could move on with less distraction.

“Hm…” now that he was alone and Io had not shown up yet, his eyes were drawn to his pack. 

“Might as well see it now.” He said as he went over to it. He pulled the case that he found at that old camp from the bag. 

“Wonder what’s inside.” He said to himself as he flipped it around in his hands. The locks were still welded/jammed shut unfortunately even with the thrashing it took during the fighting. He grabbed the two sides and tried to pry it open. The case groaned under the strain and if the locks weren’t welded it probably would have been ripped open immediately. 

He was tempted to just keep pulling until it broke but he was worried he might damage something if he did. He had to cut the locks somehow. He doubted using a blade on it would work and that would probably be overkill. Then he recalled that he had his ichor. 

“I wonder. Could I make it weak enough so I can just cut it?” he thought. Shooting it with an ichor blast was likely to just destroy the case and whatever was inside it. Maybe he could try something else? 

He thought about making a blade with his ichor blast. He focused on his ichor to try and make it do what he wanted. Maybe if he could make it weak enough he-

Suddenly a small red “blade” or arc made of ichor formed and cut the welded locks like they were made of paper. The sudden action made him jump slightly but he managed to not drop the case in the process. 

“What?” he blinked as he looked at his hand. He tried to bring that power back up but try as he might he didn’t feel anything happen. He could sense that he still had ichor so that wasn’t the problem. So why had it not come out again? 

“Questions for another time I guess…” he sighed. He was still new to this after all; he could figure it all out in time. 

He inspected the case and seeing as the locks were now “unlocked” he could see what his prize was. The case opened without any resistance now and inside there was only one thing; some kind of garment that was folded neatly in order to fit inside. 

“What?” he pulled it out and noticed that it had a little weight to it. He held it by its collar and let it unfold itself with gravity. The thing was a coat, an armored coat to be exact. It was white in color with some red mixed in on the lower end and some on the arms. The arms, shoulders, hips, chest and the sides were covered with silver armor. 

“Is this a blood veil?” it certainly looked like one, at least he thought it looked like one. It was in far better condition than the ones he saw his former jailors wearing though this one had been sitting in a case for an unknown amount of time. Io and Oliver’s blood veils were different from this one too. Louis’s looked nothing like the coat either. 

Suddenly someone started knocking on his door gently. “Cecil?” he heard Io call. 

“Coming Io.” He draped the coat over his arm and opened the door to reveal his companion. 

She had put on the dress she picked out. The dress was similar to the one she was wearing before but the skirt was black tipped. Though at the moment she wasn’t wearing her blood veil so her white hair was on full display for Cecil to see, he had to admit she looked good that way. He wouldn’t say that part out loud though. 

“Your clothes fit you?” Io looked him over, curiously unabashed. If it was anyone but Io he might have thought they were looking with other motives in mind. 

“Yes.” He nodded. “Your new dress looks nice on you.”

“Thank you. They are sufficient.” She said simply. She didn’t care much about her new attire, he wondered if she would have even picked something if he didn’t ask her to. 

“You’re not wearing your blood veil.” Cecil commented next. 

“I did not think it was necessary.” She tilted her head at him. “Do you want me to get it?” 

“No, it’s okay.” He shook his head. “I was just curious why.” 

“Does it upset you that I left it behind?” she asked next. 

“What? No. That’s not what I meant.” He sighed as shook his head. “Don’t worry about it Io. I was just pointing it out.” 

Io seemed confused by how he reacted since she tilted her head at him in the way she always did when she didn’t understand something. Then they heard someone clear their throat.

Io turned her head and Cecil stuck his head out of the room to see the guy who was staring at them standing in the hallway.

He was a tall man, being at least as tall as Cecil with a broad build. He was somewhat tanned with long red hair in a type of ponytail along with green eyes that had slits for some reason. There was also this scar running from the right side of his face up to his nose but stopping before it reached his eye. He wore a simple outfit of a shirt and pants with gloves. 

“There you two are. Rin’s waiting for you.” His voice was a little deep and his tone was neutral. He had a bored expression on his face but his green eyes were watching them cautiously. The gun he wore on his side, made Cecil a little nervous as well.

“Well, come on. Don’t keep the girl waiting. I’ve got my eyes on you two.” He said off handed as he walked away. 

“He’s odd.” Io commented, confused. Cecil wouldn’t say odd unfortunately. 

“Well he is right. Come on lets go see Rin.” He prodded. Io moved out of the way for him as he left the room and closed the door behind them. 

“What is that?” she asked, pointing to the coat he was carrying. 

“It’s something I found while I was in the underground. I want Rin to take a look at it.” He answered as they made their way back to the armory. 

“Ah…” she didn’t say more than that. 

They passed by Coco again who gave them a once over before she turned away. Cecil was expecting some kind of remark but apparently not.

The guy with the scar was sitting on his couch again, watching them like he was before. That was really starting to get on Cecil’s nerves. He was the only one out of the group who had acted that way. Louis, Rin and Coco had been particularly welcoming so far so what made that man different? 

“…” Cecil glanced back at the scarred revenant until he had to turn towards the armory. 

Rin was waiting patiently at her front desk, looking rather proud of herself. The reason for her obvious pride was most likely the blade resting on the table. She saw them approach and gave them a small wave. 

“Hey guys!” she greeted as she gave them a look over. “Wow, those clothes suit you both rather well. Coco must have been feeling generous today.” 

“Thanks. That guy with the scar said you wanted to see us? I assume the sword was finished?” Cecil asked and Rin nodded proudly as she pointed at the blade in front of her. 

“Just polished her off, what do you think?” the blade was about half a foot longer and the handle was elongated to compensate and also to allow him to use it with two hands if he wanted. 

“It looks good.” He reached for the handle but looked towards her, questioningly and she nodded. He grasped the sword and lifted it up easily and did a few flourishes to test the feel. 

“How is it?” he smiled at her and nodded. 

“It feels much better now. Almost natural.” He recalled that image he got when he was close to frenzying. The sword was similar to this one wasn’t it? Maybe that’s why it felt better. 

“Great!” she clapped her hands excitedly. “I even modified a sheath for it so you can carry it more easily.”

She produced a sheath from under the table and placed it on top of it. Cecil nodded in thanks. 

“Now we just need a blood veil!” Rin was about to turn around to her vault but Cecil stopped her. 

“Actually…” he held up the coat he was carrying and Rin instantly looked at it. “I think this is a blood veil right?” 

“Huh? I thought that was just your coat.” She held her hand out and he gave it to her freely. 

“Oh this is a bit of a heavy one.” Rin pointed out as she held it. She unfolded it and placed it on the table so she could look at it thoroughly.

“Yep this is definitely a blood veil and a vey well made one at that. Most veils don’t have actual armor incorporated into them because of the materials. It’s generally better to save the metal for weapons but a few veils have armor. Of course they’re a little rare as a result.” Rin said as she traced one of the metal plates. 

“Where did you find this?” she asked as she picked it back up and handed it to him. 

“I found it in the cave I was thrown into, where Louis found me. It was hidden fairly well.” He answered as he took the blood veil back.

“Really?” Rin shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. With the way the world is, anything could turn up anywhere.” 

“Well enough about that. Lets see you put it on.” Rin pressed. 

“Right.” Cecil put the blood veil on and felt the weight settle on his body. It didn’t weigh him down though. The coat fit his form rather well too and surprisingly it didn’t impede his movement as much as he thought it would. 

“Feels good.” He said as he moved around. “Doesn’t feel too heavy and it’s not too restricting. I like it.”

“Guess we have a winner for your blood veil then.” Rin looked him over with a nod. “It looks rather good on you too.” 

“You think so?” Cecil looked himself over. Without a mirror he couldn’t exactly get a full look but he did like the white and red. 

“Yeah! Gives you that knightly look. A nice change from the dark look most revenants go for.” Rin praised. “Don’t you think so Io?” 

“Hm?” Io sounded surprised by the question. “I…I don’t know.” 

“Come on, don’t you think the look suits him?” Rin gestured towards Cecil. Io blinked a bit before she looked at Cecil again. After a few moments she began to sway a bit on her feet almost like she was nervous. 

“It looks suitable on him…” Io spoke uncomfortably. 

“See! She likes it!” Rin clapped. 

“Heh…thanks Io.” Cecil gave Io a smile and she nodded slowly. 

“Your thanks is unnecessary.” She spoke in her usual tone again. Cecil was starting to find it endearing now that he was getting used to being around her. 

“By the way, Rin.” Cecil turned back to the blacksmith as he picked up the sheath for his new sword and attached it to his belt. “What kind of blood veil is this? I don’t think this is a claw type like my old one.” 

“It isn’t.” Rin nodded. “The technical or correct term for the claw is ogre. The one you’re wearing now is a stinger type. It’s great for range and piercing but it can take a bit to get used to.” 

“I see…” he sheathed his new blade in its sheath before he closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his blood veil. After a few moments he felt a shift from behind him. Like part of the coat’s faults changed. When he opened his eyes he saw a long metal tail with a dagger like “stinger” hovering over his shoulder. 

“There you go!” Rin exclaimed. 

“This…feels weird…” Cecil said as he tried to control his new “appendage”. The thing waved about a little awkwardly as he tried to get it to settle in a certain position. Unlike the claw, which was still his arm, this thing was an entirely new limb that just appeared. It wasn’t the same feeling at all. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have a tail. 

“Is it a problem?” Rin asked but Cecil shook his head. “No. It’s weird but I think I can understand the feeling now.” 

He slowly brought the tail back to a poised state over his shoulder. But before he did anything else he felt danger coming and instinctively backed up while at the same time, Io had shifted herself in front of him. 

“Hm…” the red haired male from earlier was standing before them with his gun drawn on them, specifically Cecil. There was a small click coming from the gun, the safety coming off most likely. 

“Yakumo!” Rin chided as she stepped out from her counter to stand between the two parties. 

“He was just testing it out.” She snapped and Cecil willed the bladed tail to disappear as a type of placating gesture.

“Sorry. I thought he was going to try something.” Yakumo muttered nonchalantly as he lowered his gun. Cecil felt more than a little annoyed though and gently moved Io and Rin aside as he stepped up towards the man.

“I was just getting used to my new blood veil.” Cecil voiced his anger though the man didn’t react to it. 

“It looked like you were thinking about sneak attacking my friend to me.” Yakumo threw out and Cecil’s eyes narrowed but he held his hand up. “Look, don’t take it too personal. You and your friend are strangers in my home. After Louis clears things up then I might lighten up but until then I’m watching you.” 

“Yakumo…” Rin sighed. Cecil was about to tell the guy off again but someone cleared their throat. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Louis and Coco joined the little gathering now. Louis not too subtly elbowed Yakumo in the side as he did, making the taller man grumble a bit. 

“The result for you blood just came in.” Louis said as he looked towards Cecil. He wondered if the results had really been finished right there or Louis wanted to wait for him until Yakumo perceived something incorrectly. Regardless his timing was good. 

“What came up?” Cecil asked, turning his gaze away from the redhead who had just pointed a gun at him. 

“Your bloods capability intrigued me when I found out you could reactivate bloodsprings and mistles. Then you touched that vestige without turning into a Lost, something I’ve never even heard about. Your blood is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. So I wanted to see if there was anything else I could learn by looking at it through a lens.” Louis explained. The others all began to stare at him with intrigue and doubt as the black haired revenant spoke. 

Cecil knew that Louis must have told the others about his “gifts” but the way that Coco, Yakumo and Rin were looking at him, made him feel a bit nervous. He calmed himself though since these people had been kind to him and Io so far aside from Yakumo. 

“What did you find?” he asked and Louis pulled another vial out but this one was full already. 

“As I said your blood is special. Reactivating bloodsprings, mistles and even being able to touch vestiges to see the memories inside them without turning into a Lost. Yet there’s still more to it. Your blood is what researchers call a void type. In short you should be able to take on Blood Codes from other people.” Louis explained. 

The looks on the others faces were completely lost now. When Louis brought up his other abilities they just looked interested since they were probably told already but now they were downright shocked. 

Cecil of course knew that he could use other Blood Codes. Cruz had informed him but at least he knew the actual term for what he had now. 

“He doesn’t seem too shocked.” Coco pointed out and he winced. 

“It’s a bit hard to be shocked by something like that after finding out I’m the only one who can reactivate springs, mistles and touch vestiges. All of which are things that no one should be able to do.” he feigned ignorance. Best not tell them that a random girl he didn’t recognize told him about his powers while he was “dead”. 

“Fair enough.” Coco relented with a shrug.

“Is there any other significance for this blood type that I possess?” he turned back to Louis who raised the vial in his hand. 

“Revenants don’t have normal blood like humans. Hence why we have these things called Blood Codes, which allow us to use our gifts. So it stands to reason that you can probably gain more of them by drinking the blood of other revenants.” He held the vial out and Cecil cautiously took it. 

“Is this yours?” he asked and Louis nodded. “I thought it would be best to use my own blood for now. I am the one who wants to test it after all.” 

“Right…” he was a little unsure about all this though. “So I should just gain your Blood Code by drinking this? How am I supposed to even know how to use it?” 

“I’m not sure. There’s only ever been one other void type to my knowledge but the information on them is limited. What information is available has nothing on how they used other Blood Codes. Every Revenant is different as well so just try what you always do when you use a gift.” Louis explained.

“That doesn’t really help…” Cecil deadpanned in his head. He did wonder about the other person who held the so-called “Void” like he did. He wished that they were here to explain this to him. 

“The only true teacher you will have is your blood and your experience.” Cruz’s advice ran through his mind and it steeled his nerves. 

“Nothing left to do but go forward…” he thought as he uncorked the vial and drank the blood in one toss. The taste didn’t bother him at all since he was used to blood by now.

At first nothing happened and he started to wonder if it was something that just happened passively. Except when the next moment came he felt strange. He didn’t feel pain but he did feel something change inside him like his blood was changing right in his veins. He felt like he had just gained something… It felt eerily similar to what he felt after that “episode” when he touched Oliver’s vestige. 

“You feel any different?” Louis asked and Cecil slowly nodded. “Sort of. Nothing major but I felt like something changed.”

“So…how do we know if it actually worked then?” Rin asked and Cecil recalled something he saw Louis do. 

“I’m going to try using a gift.” He said, giving Yakumo a pointed look. The redhead scoffed slightly but didn’t say anything. Rin let out a chortle at his response and Coco had a smirk. 

“Hm…” Cecil held his hand up and concentrated for a few moments. He remembered Louis throwing fire around when they were in fights so he focused on that. He used the same mindset he used when he used his ichor blasts to try and pull out his new powers. Surprisingly after a few moments fire coated his hand and formed a ball, making Rin and Louis flinch slightly while the others gaped. Io was the only one who just stared passively at what he had done. 

“I definitely couldn’t do this before.” Cecil mentioned. The power had responded surprisingly well. Maybe all projectiles had a similar way of being used?

“Now that is interesting.” Coco spoke everyone’s thoughts. Cecil dismissed the fire from his hand by clenching his fist, smothering it.

“Now that just seals the deal. We need your help more than ever.” Louis spoke as he motioned for him to follow. Everyone else followed him right away aside from Cecil and Io. She looked at him questioningly but he just gave her a nod as he followed the group while she followed his lead.

“The system in place keeps things in order right now but it won’t last forever, not at the rate we’re going now.” Louis spoke as he led them to the area with the couches and the piano. 

“The springs are all drying up and Cerberus isn’t very sympathetic towards Revenants living outside of shelters.” He continued as he led the group past the couches. 

“This is a map of Vein and all the regions we know about currently.” Louis pointed to a large stand that had a map along with a bunch of notes and pictures stuck onto it. “Unfortunately most of the regions are a bit unreachable at the moment since as the mistles have been drying up as well.” 

“And with the mistles drying up the miasma gets stronger.” Cecil mentioned and Louis nodded. 

“Except with you we can fix that problem.” Louis smiled as he pointed to the picture that had the words “Ruined City Center”. 

“This area is close to where we met. I want to find a bloodspring and reactivate it along with any mistles we find along the way.” Louis explained. 

“For any particular reason?” Cecil asked, skeptically. Louis was obviously an intelligent man and he had to have some kind of plan. The people surrounding him were no slouches either. There had to be some kind of larger plan going on. 

“I doubt you want me in your group just to reactivate bloodsprings and mistles.” Louis nodded to his words and opened his mouth to speak.

“We-” 

“Hold on.” Yakumo cut in as he stepped between Cecil and Louis. “Why are you asking so many questions?” 

“I want to know what the goal is.” Cecil answered, staring Yakumo in the eye. “I won’t commit myself to this until I hear what this groups true intentions are. I won’t let us be used as pawns in some kind of power play.” 

“You know, Louis helped you out.” Yakumo pointed out, staring at him hard. 

“And I thanked him for that.” Cecil nodded. “I even gave your group the majority of the blood beads that I made.”

“And if we don’t want to tell you our intentions?” Yakumo pressed. 

“Then Io and I walk right here and now.” Cecil stated firmly as he moved himself in front of Io, protectively. “One way or another…”

“Is that right?” 

“It is…” Cecil glared at him. Yakumo kept looking at him for a few moments before his gaze softened and he leaned back. 

“Well nice to meet someone who mean what he says.” Yakumo chuckled before he went back to standing at the side. “Tell him Louis.”

“Yakumo…” Rin sighed while Coco just shook her head in amusement. 

“Sorry about that.” Louis cleared his throat before he nodded to the map again. 

“The Vein needs more blood beads otherwise more revenants are going to resort to enslaving the ones weaker than themselves. If it gets worse we could have a war between the government and the revenant groups living out here.” Louis summarized as he paced in front of the map.

“The best way to do that is to find more bloodsprings but more than that we need to know more about them and the blood beads. If we learn more about them then we might be able to predict where and when new springs will grow and when they will grow. We’ve been doing what we can but the miasma is a problem.” Louis shook his head before he looked towards Cecil. “But with you we have a real chance. The miasma won’t get in our way with you around and any dry bloodsprings can be reactivated.”

“Fair enough.” Cecil nodded. “What have you learned?” 

“We’ve discovered that the springs are connected to tubes that are like the veins that are inside of us. The substance running through these veins or capillaries is the same substance that resides in blood beads.” Louis explained.

“In other words we believe that bloodsprings always form along these bloodveins.” Yakumo took over for a bit as he pointed to the red string pinned to the map. “These are all the veins we know about currently.” 

“That’s rather grotesque to think about.” Cecil thought. That made it sound like the city was one big organism. What a terrifying thought. 

“This has led us to hypothesis of sorts. Inside us, our hearts pump our blood through our veins to the rest of our body. We believe that these bloodveins have something that pumps the blood out to the springs. Their “heart” so to say.” Louis explained.

“So you’re saying we can follow these veins to their source in the hope of finding where blood beads come from?” Cecil summarized. This was getting more interesting by the second.

“That’s the plan.” Yakumo shrugged. 

“The Vein needs more blood beads. The best bet would be to find the source. With you we can get through the miasma without difficulty.” Louis said as he stepped towards him.

“I won’t lie. If you join us you will be walking head first into danger. We’re going to be purposely moving through areas that have been closed off by the miasma for years where the Lost have grown stronger than anything you’ve faced so far. We’re also likely going to run into more than a few unfriendly revenants along the way. Your power is likely to draw unwanted attention as well the more you use it.” Louis came to a stop in front of him. 

“I’m asking for your help though. Without your powers our efforts will not make any meaningful progress. With your help we can finally make a difference in Vein.” He held out his hand to him and Cecil stared at him, inquisitively. He sounded sincere as he had since he first met him. He had done right by him and Io so far as well when he easily could have taken advantage of them. Everything he said made sense as well, he truly seemed like he wanted to help people. Cruz had said she wanted him to use his power for the right reasons too…

“Io will be protected here and she won’t be forced to join us in our battles. If you’re lying to us or try to take advantage of us then we both walk.” He stated his terms. 

“Of course. Nothing will happen to Io while she’s here you have my word. We won’t do anything to abuse your trust either.” Louis promised. Cecil couldn’t detect any deceit and shook his hand. “Then I will aid you.”

“Thank you. I promise your faith in us isn’t misplaced.” Louis smiled.

“Then it’s final.” Yakumo spoke up as he pushed off the couch he was leaning on. 

“You guys are one of us now.” He clasped Cecil on his shoulder. “You already know my name but I’m Yakumo Shinonome, it’s nice to meet you both.”

Cecil just stared at the man in confusion and Io looked even more confused than he was. Wasn’t this guy threatening them a few minutes ago? The whole time they had been there he had stared at them with distrust and he had even pointed a gun at Cecil when he thought he was going to skewer Rin. 

“What…” Io voiced their shared confusion. 

“Don’t hold anything he did personally. He’s a teddy bear.” Coco said off handed as she departed the little gathering. “I’ll be around for a bit longer if you guys need me.” 

“Sorry about the rough treatment. I wanted to make sure you guys weren’t going to try anything but now that you’re one of us I can drop it.” Yakumo shrugged nonchalantly. 

“No hard feelings right?” he offered his hand to Cecil and he stared at it for a few minutes before he sighed. 

“Yeah. It’s fine.” He answered as he shook the offered hand. Yakumo smiled kindly but Cecil didn’t quite return it. When Yakumo offered his hand to Io too she moved behind Cecil a bit more, earning a chuckle from the man.

“I guess I deserved that.” He sighed good-naturedly. 

“So you said you want us to go to the City Ruins first?” Cecil asked, turning back to Louis. 

“Yes. We already know where a few bloodsprings are. The closest one is in the middle of the city ruins. The other two will be a bit tricky to get to. One of them is in a big sinkhole and the other is along a dried up seabed.” Louis explained as he tapped the red circles drawn on the map. Cecil read the words “Howling Pit” and “Dried-Up Trenches” next to the circles that were a little bit removed from the Ruined City Center. 

“That sounds pleasant…” he grimaced at the pictures linked to the areas. The Pit looked like some kind of underground swamp while the Trenches looked like some kind of rocky maze. 

“When do we need to head out?” he asked.

“I’m sorry to do this but we should really get going as soon as possible. Every moment we wait, things get worse. You’re ready to go now right?” Louis asked, apologetically. 

“Yes, I am ready.” He suspected that they would be setting out right away. Yakumo and Louis seemed restless to get going and Cecil had to admit he wanted to get out there too.

“Great. We’ll go as soon as Yakumo and I are prepared.” Louis nodded as he and Yakumo went off to get their gear, leaving Cecil with Io and Rin. 

“You’re leaving with them?” Io touched his arm gently and he nodded as he turned towards her. 

“They’re right. It is better if we get to work as soon as possible. Otherwise things won’t improve.” He sighed before he gave her a smile. “You’ll be safe here though so don’t worry too much.”

“No.” Io shook her head. “I should go with you. You’ll be in danger out there.” 

“I won’t be gone for too long Io.” Cecil gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “I will be fine.”

“But I want to be there for you.” Io’s tone noticeably dropped and he winced. Her eyes looked up at his worriedly. “What if something happens and I’m not there to help you?”

“Io…” he shook his head. “Don’t worry so much about me. You need to take care of yourself…”

“But-”

“Io.” He said firmly. “You have barely slept since you found me. You only slept in that prison because you passed out from exhaustion. I don’t want you running yourself ragged out there.”

“But I…” Io sounded distressed now as she bounced on her feet, nervously. 

“Please Io…” Cecil stressed as he gripped her shoulders. “Do it for me. Get some rest while I’m gone. I promise I’ll be back.”

Io shuffled around on her feet again from his words. She didn’t pull away from him though. 

“Hey, don’t worry Io!” Rin came in and placed one of her hands on her shoulders. “Cecil will be in good hands. Yakumo and Louis are going to be with him. I haven’t seen anyone tougher than them and your friend has a good head on his shoulders. They’ll be just fine out there.”

“I…” Io blinked as her gaze drifted towards Rin and back to Cecil.

“Okay! We’re good to go!” Cecil turned to see Louis and Yakumo coming back with their weapons and blood veils. 

“I have to go now, okay Io.” Cecil spoke gently as he turned back to Io. She didn’t respond though and kept shuffling around. 

“You’ll make sure she’s okay right?” Cecil turned towards Rin who nodded. 

“You can count on me! I’ll make sure she doesn’t get in any trouble! It’ll be fun!” she said excitedly, no doubt smiling under her mask. 

“Thank you.” Cecil said gratefully before he gave Io a small hug. She flinched from the contact but her shaking did stop. 

“I promise I’ll be back.” He told her as he parted. She wouldn’t look him in the eye though and he frowned. 

“Cecil. We need to go.” Louis spoke behind him. 

“Coming.” Cecil gave Io another smile before he turned to leave. 

“Stay safe.” She spoke as he turned and he smiled. 

“I will.” He replied as he approached his two new teammates, pulling his new mask out as he did. 

“Ready to go?” Louis asked as he placed his mask on his frame. Cecil just placed his new mask on with a small click.

“I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is wondering, everything I gave Cecil is actual gear and powers in the game. Only difference is I gave him that Blood Veil really early and I get a little creative with the Gift usage.
> 
> Relax your worries if you think he's going to be too OP, he won't be.


	5. The Ruins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone I’m back sort of. If anyone looked at the version on FF.net, I mentioned I had an emergency to take care of. So I won’t give too many details but there was a medical emergency that popped up. It wasn’t me personally who had the emergency though and I’ll leave it at that.
> 
> I think the worst has passed so that’s why I’m putting up a chapter. This chapter was actually finished a while ago but I cut some of it out since it felt a bit too long for what was going on.

Cecil let out a sigh as he “appeared” back in the place where he had faced Oliver. It was exactly the same as when he left it. He shrugged his shoulders a bit to shake off the feeling he got from his “travel”. Moving through mistles still felt weird. Yakumo and Louis materialized next to him as well though if they felt similar to him, they didn’t show it. 

“Well here we are…” Yakumo hefted his weapon on his shoulder, a large two-handed sword. It was similar in design to Louis’s actually aside from the size difference. His veil was also a jacket he wore as a cape, kind of like what Oliver wore.

“Yes. Thankfully no one is here waiting for us.” Cecil was worried that his former jailors might have been waiting for them there. He still didn’t know if they were turned to ash for good or not. 

“That is always a good thing.” Yakumo agreed before he turned towards their other companion. “So Louis which way are we going now?” 

“We’re going this way.” Louis pointed his sword down one of the pathways before he walked towards it with Yakumo. 

“We’re going to have to walk the rest of the way?” Cecil asked as he followed the two down the path. It led them down into a tunnel. 

“There’s a mistle at the end of this tunnel but it’s dried up. Once you activate it, we’ll have our shortcut.” Louis explained as they walked through the dark.

“You seem to know a lot about it.” Cecil mentioned. 

“Yes.” Louis nodded. “We’ve actually scouted out the City Center quite a bit since it was one of the places that had active mistles for a long time. It’s connected to the other regions we need to check. That’s why we know where the Howling Pit and Trenches are.”

“Then the mistles started drying up.” Cecil guessed. He could feel the air get a heavier as they passed into an area with thicker miasma. Even with a new up to date mask he could feel it. 

“Pretty much.” Yakumo added. “It’s hard to explore if the first breath of air you take makes you go crazy. The Lost don’t exactly give us a break because the air is hard to take in.” 

“How long has it been since you were there?” Cecil asked as he created fire in his hand to illuminate the dark tunnel a bit more. 

“It’s been a few months now since the mistles in the area went dry. Thankfully the area shouldn’t have changed much. We also know exactly where to go since bloodsprings don’t move. The only problem we’ll have to deal with is the Lost.” Louis explained. 

“I just hope things haven’t changed too much while we’ve been gone…” Yakumo added, grimly. 

“Changed how?” Cecil asked. 

“The land of Vein can change from time to time. Whether it’s from natural occurrence or the Lost is up in the air.” Louis explained quickly. Well that was a lovely thought. The Lost and renegade revenants weren’t enough of a problem apparently. 

“No use worrying about it too much now.” Yakumo reassured as he adjusted his mask. “Just work your magic on the mistles and we’ll find our way to the spring in no time.” 

“Right…” Cecil didn’t feel particularly confident that it would be as easy as they said. 

After a few more minutes of walking they came to some light and a staircase that led up to the surface. They went up the steps to find a dried up mistle just before they reached the surface. The miasma also got a lot stronger as they neared the surface. 

“Better make this quick.” Cecil pulled his glove and his mask off and bit his wrist with his fangs, allowing his blood to flow. Just like all the times before the mistle sprung back to life and the air lightened up to the point where Cecil didn’t even feel the miasma anymore. 

“Well…expectations exceeded.” Yakumo chuckled nervously as he pulled his mask off. He probably didn’t quite believe that he could activate mistles even when Louis said he could. 

“This just solidifies how much we need you for our plan to work.” Louis also took his mask off. “With your help we can find the source and find a solution to every revenants thirst.” 

“We have to get there first.” Cecil pointed out and Louis chuckled. 

“Yes I suppose we do.” Cecil smiled slightly before his gaze turned towards the top of the stairs. “Shall we?”

“Best not keep the city waiting.” Yakumo put his mask back on before he walked on ahead of them. Louis and Cecil did the same before they followed him up to the surface. 

Upon finally reaching the surface Cecil was faced with even more of the ruined city. Though instead of a parking garage he was in the city proper now. It didn’t look any better up close than it did from far away at the base. The only good thing about this was the sun was actually shining fully. 

“So where do we need to go?” Cecil turned towards Louis with his question. 

“It’s not too far from here but it’ll still take a bit since the path to the bloodspring isn’t straight. We’ll have to work our way through the city and into the “park”. The spring will be there.” Louis explained. 

“Don’t worry about getting lost.” Yakumo added. “We know the path pretty well by now. The only problems we should have are the Lost.” 

“Right. Speaking of which, what are the Lost like here?” Cecil asked. 

“Stronger than the ones you faced in the tunnels but nothing too major. The Lost aren’t exactly known for being bright. Just pay attention to your surroundings and take any Lost out as quick as possible.” Louis explained. That sounded simple enough so Cecil would just have to keep doing what he was doing. 

“Oh by the way.” Yakumo held them up as he reached into his pack and pulled out a holster with a gun. “You know how to use one of these?” 

“Amnesia.” Cecil reminded and Yakumo smiled sheepishly but he still held the weapon out. 

“It’s not hard just pull the slot back and make sure its pointed in the direction you want to fire.” He said and Cecil sighed.

“Why do I need this?” Cecil asked as he took the firearm. “I thought normal firearms don’t work on Lost?”

“It’s not for the Lost.” Yakumo said grimly and Cecil instantly remembered that the Lost weren’t the only threat in Vein. 

“I hate to say it but he has a point. Normal guns don’t work very well on Lost but they still work on Revenants if you hit their head or their heart.” Louis spoke dimly.

“I see…” Cecil looked down at the weapon he had been handed. Doing what he’d been told he pulled the weapon out and pulled the slot back with a satisfying click. When the slot was pulled he instinctively looked in to see that there were rounds in the weapon so he let the slot slide back into place. 

“See? Easy.” Yakumo praised but Cecil didn’t respond. The feeling was foreign but at the same time it felt natural like he’d done it many times before. He couldn’t recall seeing someone using a normal gun ever since he woke up though.

“I guess.” Cecil waved off as he fastened the holster to his side before he drew his blade. 

“Can we get moving now?” 

“Yes. There’s another mistle ahead in a parking garage. We should be able to get a good look at the park from there too.” Louis pointed with his sword down one of the paths. “Yakumo you good?” 

“Don’t even need to ask.” Yakumo lifted his large sword on his shoulder easily. 

“Then lets get moving.” 

\---

After setting off from the mistle the trio had encountered no resistance. Cecil knew that the mistle would keep the Lost away so he wasn’t too worried but he was still on edge. Louis and Yakumo were in a similar state of mind despite their more relaxed look. 

“Hold up.” Louis held his hand up and the group stopped moving. They had come to a stop in front of a very “jagged” pathway. 

“There’s the parking structure up ahead.” Yakumo lifted his blade and pointed ahead where there was indeed the large “remains” of an old parking structure. 

“Well that was easy.” Cecil thought as Yakumo stepped forward. But then Cecil heard the sound of something scraping the ground. 

“Yakumo back!” Louis shouted and the redhead immediately backed up as a knife landed in the ground where he used to be standing. 

“Right it’s never that easy…” Cecil cursed in his head as he raised his sword. 

An armored Lost came out of its hiding spot with a blade in hand. It looked significantly stronger than the ones Cecil encountered in the underground and it was better equipped. To make matters worse it wasn’t alone. Three more Lost appeared from their little hiding places, weapons in hand and red eyes staring at them hungrily. 

“I was wondering when they would show up.” Yakumo scoffed as he lowered his blade into a two handed grip. 

“Here goes!” Louis threw a plume of fire at the nearest Lost, making it screech in pain while its fellows charged towards them with reckless abandon. 

“Rah!” one of them threw a knife right at Cecil as it charged him.

“Nh!” Cecil raised his blade just in time to deflect a knife the knife before the Lost reached him. It tried to slash his side but he swiftly parried the blade with his own, making the Lost’s guard open right up. Then he brought his sword up in an upwards slash across the Lost’s chest before he kicked it away, making it slam into one of the walls. Then Cecil lunged and sank his blade right through its head, making it go still before it turned to ash. 

“Rah!!” on instinct Cecil activated his stinger and raised it behind him. He winced when he felt something impact it and he turned to glare at the Lost who tried to stab him in the back. 

Then a sword was suddenly impaled through its chest, making the Lost groan in pain before it turned to ash revealing Yakumo. 

“Thanks.” Cecil spoke as he retracted his stinger. 

“No problem. We already finished up and it looked like you needed a hand.” Yakumo hefted his sword back onto his shoulder nonchalantly. Cecil blinked and realized that all the Lost were gone already. He didn’t even see the other two take the others out save for the one Yakumo helped him with. 

“We should keep moving.” Louis walked past them as he dusted off his blood veil. “We don’t want to get caught by a larger group.” 

“You heard the man.” Yakumo sighed as he followed after their leader. Cecil smiled slightly behind his mask as he followed after them towards their destination. 

The parking garage was still standing but like the majority of the other structures it was partially rubble. It would be difficult to move around in there. Unfortunately it was their destination and honestly Cecil didn’t see any other way to go from where they were.

“Looks a bit tight in there…” Yakumo sighed. “You two should go first. I need a lot of space for my fighting style to be effective. The two of you should still be able to fight in that spacing.”

“Agreed. Cecil you’re with me. Lets try to make this quick. The Mistle is one level down from where we are now.” Louis commanded as he moved into the structure. Cecil wasn’t far behind while Yakumo took up the rear. 

Before long they came across some Lost but thankfully they weren’t noticed this time. The element of surprise was with them for once. 

“There are two by that ruined car.” Cecil spoke softly. Their backs were to them so they could probably take them at the same time. 

“Not just two.” Louis pointed towards the two Lost lying down on the other side of the car. “Those two are playing dead.” 

Cecil looked closer and realized that Louis was correct. At first glance the two he pointed out looked out but he same them twitch every so often. 

“We’ll need to act fast so we don’t get stuck in the middle of all of them.” Louis spoke as he readied his blade. “Can you use your stinger well enough now?” 

“I think so.” He had been able to block that Lost from before with it but that was more instinct than actual willful control. 

“Try to hit one of the two standing Lost. I’ll scorch the second one and then we can work our way through the ones playing dead.” Louis created his plan in just a moment and Cecil nodded in acceptance. 

“Lets go.” He and Louis stepped out towards the Lost but despite being in the open the Lost didn’t turn towards them just yet. 

Louis raised his hand and threw a flurry of fire at one of the Lost, scorching it to dust while Cecil brought his stinger out and sent it to impale the other Lost. His tail went forward but instead of hitting the center mass, the dagger like tail pierced the Lost’s shoulder, tearing the arm off with a sickening squelsh. 

“Damn…” Cecil cursed as the Lost let out a loud shriek that aroused the “sleeping” Lost. 

“Quick!” Louis teleported behind the wounded Lost and hacked it down in one cut. 

Cecil rushed in and launched an ichor bolt at one of the awakened Lost, sending it back onto its behind. Then he leapt and buried his sword so deep into the Lost that his sword went into the ground under it. The Lost let out one last groan before it turned to ash.

“Ugh…” he turned to see Louis turn the last Lost to ash with some quick blade work before he swiped the blade to flick the blood off. Yakumo had approached now that the coast was clear too.

“Sorry. I thought my attack would kill that Lost but I missed.” Cecil said as he pulled his sword from the ground. 

“No worries. Stingers are hard to aim.” Louis waved off. “Besides we both killed them off before anything bad happened.” 

“Yeah don’t worry so much, you’re still new to all this!” Yakumo suddenly clapped his back a little roughly, making Cecil lean forward a bit before he leaned back to give Yakumo a deadpanned look. The redhead just smiled nonchalantly though. 

“Don’t worry so much. At least you hit the thing. I couldn’t even use my hounds correctly when I first got my blood veil.” Yakumo offered like it was nothing. 

“He’s not kidding. When he tried using it on our training dummies he almost cut Rin and Coco in half.” Louis added and Yakumo chuckled nervously. 

“Yeah…they weren’t happy about that…” he rubbed the back of his head good-naturedly while Louis chuckled. 

“Heh…” Cecil could actually imagine the looks on their faces. 

“Wow look at that. So he can laugh.” Cecil deadpanned immediately and stared at Yakumo who was staring at him like he grew a second head. 

“I generally don’t have a reason to. I haven’t exactly had a lot of time to laugh.” There certainly hadn’t been much time for jokes ever since he woke up. 

“Eh. Fair I guess. You should learn to let loose a bit more. I already got one stiff to work with.” Yakumo gestured at Louis who just scoffed in response. 

“Someone has to be serious.” The black haired revenant retorted and Yakumo chuckled again. 

“I suppose.” Louis just rolled his eyes and motioned for Cecil to follow him. “Come on we should be able to see the park from here.” 

“Right…” Cecil followed Louis while Yakumo uttered a “Hey!” as he chased after them. 

The three went to the edge of the parking structure and Cecil grimaced at the sight. Not the ruined city but the sight of the Lost below them. There were quite a few of them including types he had not seen before. He thought he saw Lost that looked like dogs down there along with the armored ones. 

The streets were crawling with the beasts but the more alarming thing was the sight of a giant crater in the ground. There was a large building above said pit that caught much of his attention, specifically the things guarding it. There was one Lost that stood out. It was rather large like the thing that Oliver turned into but a bit different, female to be precise. To make matters worse it was standing on a thin bridge, said bride was one of those Thorns of Judgment and there were multiple bayonet wielding Lost standing guard over it as well. It was a death trap if Cecil ever saw one. 

“Remember that sight well. We’re going to have to cross that.” Louis spoke and Cecil sighed. Of course they did. 

“Yeah they’re standing right in the way we need to go.” Yakumo pointed with his sword to the building behind the Lost. It was a ruin like the rest but the important thing was the staircase that led up to what Cecil assumed was the park. 

“That’s the park you guys mentioned?” he asked to make sure. 

“Yes. However we’re going to have to work our way through the streets to get there first.” Louis hefted his sword again. “Lets get moving. The mistle is down below us.” 

“Right…come on Cecil.” Yakumo lifted his sword onto his shoulder again as he followed after his friend. Cecil was about to follow them before he saw more movement down below. 

“Hm?” Cecil eyed two figures creeping through the streets below. One of them was a young woman in a black coat while the other was a small child wearing a purple jacket that stood out. Amazingly the Lost didn’t seem to notice them. They knew what they were doing. Were they revenants? The woman probably was but the child? That couldn’t be could it? 

“What the heck are they doing?” Cecil shook his head. They must have been desperate if they were doing something like that. 

“Cecil?” he was shaken out of his view as he turned back to see Yakumo and Louis waiting for him. 

“You okay?” Louis asked. 

“Yes.” Cecil turned back towards the people he was watching but he didn’t see them anymore.

“What?” where did they go? He looked away for just a moment. Now they were gone. 

“Cecil?” Yakumo called, cautiously. 

“Yeah…I’m coming.” Cecil looked at the spot one more time before he followed after his companions. 

“Probably nothing. Just some poor souls trying to live in this hell…” 

\---

Cecil and his party fought through some more Lost on their way down but nothing major happened. Cecil had grown accustomed to these Lost now and he had gotten a handle on working with his new companions. Yakumo was the heavy hitter and the tank while Louis was more of a supportive or run and gun type. Cecil had settled in as a “brawler” type for the two of them. 

Eventually they reached a ramp that led to the next floor. The mistle they were looking for was in sight as they move down. Cecil approached it without question before he stopped suddenly as a sweet smell filled his nose. He felt a hunger burn inside him and his vision tinted red. He felt…thirsty. 

“Hey what’s wrong?” Yakumo asked soon followed by him letting out an audible sniff. “Louis smell that?” 

“…Yeah...fresh blood.” Louis muttered slowly. 

“Human blood…”

Cecil’s eyes landed on a small puddle of blood on the ground, the source of the sweet smell he was getting. He felt his thirst spike for a moment before he shook his head to clear his thoughts. What was going on with him? 

“Ugh…” he placed his hand on his forehead as he tried to get himself under control. 

“Cecil you okay?” Louis askedand Cecil nodded. 

“Yes. Just need a moment.” He took a few deep breathes before his vision returned to normal and the urge to drink blood receded. 

“First time you’ve smelled human blood huh?” Yakumo asked. “It’s powerful stuff, a lot more enticing than blood beads. Tastes better too from what I hear.”

“That’s human blood?” that was surprising. The blood from the blood beads didn’t smell anywhere near as good as that did. When he drank Louis’s blood it didn’t taste much different than the blood beads. He assumed all of it was made of the same substance. 

“Remember we’re not human, not anymore at least.” Yakumo reminded. “Our blood isn’t considered normal anymore either. It’s our Blood Codes now, our source of power. Humans are different, their blood is very sweet to us for some reason.”

“Unfortunately it attracts the Lost too.” Louis added as he cleared his throat. 

“Why is this one out here then? Aren’t humans supposed to be protected by the government?” Cecil had been told that multiple times so far. His former jailors were rather disgruntled by that knowledge too.

“It’s likely whatever human dropped that blood is on the run.” Louis responded.

“On the run from what?” were the government shelters actually bad? 

“From revenants most likely. Not every human is under the governments protection, just most of them. There are a few who are being held by revenant covens.” Louis explained. 

“I thought that wasn’t aloud?” that was the first Cecil had heard of that. The government sounded very protective of humanity from what he heard. 

“It isn’t.” Yakumo scoffed. “Though just because it isn’t legal that won’t stop some of our “less” than moral brethren from doing it. They keep the humans as cattle pretty much. The government does something similar but they have the decency to extract the blood humanly. 

The groups that keep humans just suck their blood when they feel like it. They keep them hidden from the government of course otherwise they would be kicking down their door to save them.” 

“Sounds horrible.” Not a whole lot different from what he, Oliver and Io had been forced into except humans didn’t even have the power to fight back. 

“It is.” Louis confirmed sadly. “A lot of revenants don’t see humans as people unfortunately.” 

“Yeah. It’s never pretty.” Yakumo agreed. “Seems like this one got away though. The blood is fresh too.” 

“So the human might not be far away then.” Cecil stated. He was about to say they should go look for her when he heard a door slam open. All three of them reacted instantly and went on guard but they just saw another revenant stumbling around. 

“Now where did she get too…” the revenant was a rough individual wearing a full purifier mask and a red coat for a blood veil. He was carrying a bayonet around with him as well. 

“Must be one of her pursuers.” Cecil thought. 

The revenant didn’t seem to notice them as he was busy sniffing the air, looking for traces of human he was pursing. Though it didn’t take long for him to catch the sent of the blood near them. When he did he finally noticed them and his body twitched with barely constrained aggression. 

“Hey! What the heck are you doing here!?” he stepped up to them aggressively despite the fact that there was three of them. 

“None of your business.” Louis responded calmly but also firmly. 

“Oh yeah then how come you three are near the sweet smell of a human?” the revenant got in Louis face though the black haired revenant didn’t so much as twitch. “The human belongs to my group. If you try to take her then you’ll have some trouble on your hands!” 

“Maybe if you took better care of her then she wouldn’t run off.” Cecil thought as he rolled his eyes. If the information Yakumo and Louis gave him wasn’t enough then the way this guy spoke about the human was really telling on how his people treated her. 

“Hey why don’t you get lost. As you can see there isn’t any human with us.” Yakumo cut in and the revenant in question glared at him for a few moments before he scoffed. 

“Just remember who the human belongs to if you see her.” He remarked snidely as he bumped past Louis. He went up to one of the ledges and vaulted over it like nothing and dropped down to the streets below. 

“We’re not going to just let that slide are we?” Cecil didn’t like the idea of letting that creep find the human, a human girl to be precise. He’d seen and experienced how the bad revenants treat their own kind. He really didn’t want to think about how they would treat a human even if Louis already gave him an idea. 

“Of course not. It’s our duty to protect any humans we come across.” Louis answered. “If she’s bleeding then that means she’s hurt. The Lost will be drawn to her blood just like us and unlike us a human won’t last long against Lost even if its just a few.” 

“Lets get this mistle working and get a move on then.” Yakumo said. “Lucky for us I think our “rival” isn’t competent. He was walking the opposite way the scent leads.” 

“Right.” Cecil went towards the mistle quickly and activated it. 

“Hold on, we’ll be right there…” 

\---

“Well this is lovely…” Cecil noted in a dry tone. 

The party had ended up going down the stairs to the bottom level of the parking structure. There were a few Lost down there that were easily taken out since they were distracted by the blood trail that they were following. Unfortunately though they had come across a roadblock of sorts. That large female Lost and her firing squad were in their way. 

“Nowhere to go but forward too.” Louis nodded towards the “bridge”. It looked even narrower now that they were closer to it. 

“Only thing we can do is rush them and bash right through.” Yakumo spoke as he lifted his sword off his shoulder and let it touch the ground. 

“Can one of us manage to jump onto the other ledge over there?” Cecil pointed towards a second “spike” that acted as a bridge. It was even narrower than the bridge they were going to use and it didn’t reach their side of the gap but someone could leap to it and run across it, most likely. It would give them a nice little path around the big Lost too and a straight shot at the gunners. 

“I was thinking about that too.” Louis nodded. “My teleport should be able to reach it.”

“Can you use that move yet, Cecil?” Yakumo asked and Cecil shrugged. 

“Haven’t really tried anything like that before.” 

He didn’t know how that ability was even supposed to work. He felt like he was lucky to even figure out how to use his enhancements and his blasts. Teleporting sounded a lot more confusing to get to work.

“Its fine.” Louis interceded. “I can handle those Lost just fine. They might be decent shots but they’re very poor in close range.” 

“Yeah, we don’t want to lose you to a hole we don’t want to go into just yet.” Yakumo yielded rather quickly but the ending of his sentence made Cecil look at him.

“Yet?” what was that supposed to mean? Was there something down there? 

“The Howling Pit is down there but don’t worry about that now. There’s a better way to get down there.” Louis mentioned quickly and Cecil blinked. Was that where those two revenants he saw before went? He didn’t have much time to think about that though since his companions went into the plan of attack.

“Yakumo can you handle that large one for a bit while we take care of the smaller ones?” Louis asked and Yakumo nodded. “I should be able to block its hits or knock it on its back. If I’m lucky maybe I’ll be able to knock it off the cliff.” 

“Right. Cecil try to get past the large one and help take out the gunners but if you can’t then help Yakumo out.” Louis explained and Cecil nodded. Sounded simple enough considering that they were just throwing themselves at the enemy. 

“Well lets get going then.” Yakumo boasted. Cecil and Louis both nodded.

“Lets go!” 

Louis sprinted down the bridge first with Yakumo doing his best to keep up and Cecil coming up on the rear. 

The Lost reacted to their approach right away, the gunners raising their rifles right at Louis. Right when they fired though he leapt out of the way and teleported to the other “bridge” like planned. Cecil didn’t watch though since he had to keep his eyes forward. 

“Hiyah!” Yakumo raised his sword in front of him like a shield to block the bolts fired from the gunners that decided he was a better target instead of Louis. The bolts stopped coming soon after though, thanks to Louis’s interference. 

The large Lost at the end of the bride raised her weapon as they approached, not at all paying attention to the revenant wrecking havoc on its backline. When they were in range the Lost swung its large weapon but Yakumo stopped the strike in its tracks with his sword.

Cecil leapt over Yakumo and launched a heavy ichor blast into the Lost’s face, making it cry out in pain before he buried his sword down deep into its shoulder. Then he used his sword as a lever to swing behind the Lost and plant his feet on its back before he kicked off of it with a loud squishy sound as he ripped his sword free as well. 

“Hiah!” he launched himself straight at one of the gunners that Louis hadn’t taken out just yet and slammed into it like a boulder. He buried his sword deep into the Lost before it could react and turned to ash a few moments later. 

“Hm…” he looked up to see Louis finish off the last of the gunners and when he turned back to the large Lost he saw it fade to ash as Yakumo nonchalantly dusted his shoulders off. 

“Well that was fun.” Yakumo boasted as he placed his sword on his shoulder again. 

“Indeed. We better get moving before more show up though.” Louis said as he already began walking along the path the Lost were guarding. Cecil and Yakumo were quick to follow after him of course. 

“The staircase should be around the back.” Louis spoke out as he led them around. Right after he finished speaking though Cecil heard a series of growls and the next moment he saw two “dogs” or what might have been dogs at one point come charging around the corner. 

“Out of the way!” Louis shouted as he sprung forward and slammed his sword down right on the head of the first dog while Cecil instinctively summoned his tail out and impaled the second one right as it leapt at him. The dog squirmed around for a bit and Cecil felt empowered by the blood his stinger took from the Lost before it turned to ash. 

“Nice reflex.” Louis praised as he wiped his blade off. 

“Yeah, I didn’t even have time to do anything.” Yakumo complained half-heartedly. 

“Thanks…” Cecil retracted his tail back to his coat and the group set off again. They were not interrupted again though as they easily made their way around to the building and the metal staircase Cecil had seen from the garage. 

“This used to be some kind of apartment building.” Louis muttered as he went up the stairs first. 

“Yeah, one of the smaller ones though. Lucky us that this one is still standing.” Yakumo commented as he and Cecil followed him up. 

“Must be because of the Thorn of Judgment.” Cecil spoke softly, listening in for any sudden movements. 

“Probably. Those things are so deep in the ground they might as well be roots for the things they sink into.” Louis responded before adjusted his mask. “Come. The park is at the top of the staircase and the mistle is there too.” 

“I think there’s a small mistle on this staircase too.” Yakumo added. 

“Small mistle?” Cecil questioned. 

“Yeah, it’s not a true mistle like the ones we use to get around but it helps clear the miasma out just to a lesser extent.” Yakumo answered as they climbed before he suddenly stopped, making Louis and Cecil tense. 

“Like that!” Yakumo pointed to something above them. Cecil blinked as he took in the sight of a small mass of roots around what looked like a glowing red flower but it was no flower that was for sure. 

“Please don’t do that, Yakumo.” Louis sighed as he relaxed his stance and Cecil let out a breath as his tension left his body. 

“Sorry.” Yakumo chuckled. “Couldn’t help myself that time. Well you should activate that thing while we’re here. Trust me it’ll help.” 

“Well he’s not wrong about that.” Louis sighed as they made their way up to the little rotten mistle. 

“I guess I should just spill a little blood.” Cecil pulled his sleeve back again and made a small cut with his sword so he could spill his blood on the red mistle. The moment his blood touched it though the red receded and the roots turned white and started to glow like a normal mistle. 

“There, that should make it harder for the mistles to dry up again.” Yakumo sighed. 

“Speaking of mistles…” Louis pointed towards to the side of their stairway. “The park is right there.” 

Calling the place that was connected to the stairway a “park” was a bit of a stretch but it was the remains of a park at least. The more important part was the mistle resting in the middle of it. 

“Great looks like we can take a short breather then.” Yakumo sighed as he went over to the mistle. 

“Not too long, we have a human to save after all.” Louis reminded as Cecil repeated what he did on the rotten mistle and activated the mistle with a few drops of his blood. 

“True.” Yakumo agreed as he took his mask off to take a few breathes without needing a filter. “How are you feeling Cecil? You used to being a revenant now?” 

“I guess.” Cecil shrugged. It wasn’t like he had any memories to compare it. 

“Fair enough. By the way I have to ask you something.” Cecil turned to him fully and nodded for him to go ahead. 

“Is Io your girlfriend?” Cecil’s mind ground to a halt and he looked at Yakumo in disbelief.

“Are you really asking me that now?” they were in the middle of a literal dead world with flesh eating monsters and this was what he asked him. Not about anything related to his powers or his loss of memory, no. He asked him about his love life. 

“What?” Yakumo shrugged. “We’re all adults here.” 

“Yakumo...” Louis sighed but Yakumo waved his hand. 

“I’m just trying to get to know him.” Yakumo waved towards Cecil. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” 

“…” Cecil stared at him for a few moments before he sighed in resignation. He supposed he could understand that. “No she isn’t. I’ve only known her for a few days.” 

“But from what I gathered she stayed with you a while until you woke up.” Yakumo pointed out. “Sounds like she feels something for you to me.” 

“I don’t know.” Cecil blushed though since the words did strike a cord in him. He really had not asked her how long she had stayed with him, waiting for him to wake up in the middle of that wasteland. It could have been days or it could have been weeks…maybe months. The idea of her showing that much dedication and devotion to him was…flattering actually. 

“Enough, Yakumo.” Louis intervened. “We do have better things to worry about right now.” 

“Right, right.” Yakumo smiled though and Cecil just knew that he wasn’t going to hear the end of it for a while. 

He turned his gaze towards their path forward and he saw it was littered with those Spikes of Judgment but when he looked further he saw something a bit more alarming. 

There was a giant cocoon of sorts in the distance. The Spikes of Judgment around it were covered in the same type of webbing that the cocoon was made out of. It looked like a giant nest.

“I see it too.” Louis mentioned and Cecil turned towards him and Yakumo. 

“I’ve never seen something like that before and that definitely wasn’t there the last time we were here.” Yakumo muttered all traces of easygoing wiped away. “What about you Louis?” 

“Can’t say I have. It’s got to be the home of a Greater Lost though unless a revenant has a strange blood code.” Louis replied.

“Greater Lost?” Cecil asked. 

“Yeah, as the name implies they’re “greater” than the other Lost we’ve been fighting.” Louis explained. “That thing your friend turned into was a type of Greater Lost.” 

“…” Cecil winced at the memory of fighting Oliver. 

“The unfortunate thing about Greater Lost is they’re all unique so don’t compare that thing we faced to whatever made that nest.” Louis added and Cecil nodded slowly. 

“Good news is that they generally stay in whatever hole they make for themselves. So if you stay away from their home they’ll leave you alone.” Yakumo added. 

“Though judging from the blood trail we’re following, it looks like we’re going to have to go towards that nest.” Louis muttered grimly and Cecil sighed. Of course, what else was new? They just had to go through the most treacherous path. Why couldn’t the human be smart enough to go somewhere else? 

Boom!

Cecil’s head perked up as he heard the sound of bayonet fire and the cries of Lost. 

“What the hell? There shouldn’t be anyone else out here aside from that human and us…” Yakumo froze as something set in on him, most likely the same thing that crossed Cecil’s mind. 

“That guy who’s hunting the human.” Cecil finished grimly. 

“How? He went the opposite way!” Yakumo exclaimed. 

“No use worrying about it now. Let’s go!” Louis took off in a spring while Cecil and Yakumo were quick to run after him. 

“This day just went from bad to worse…” 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked it!
> 
> Also if you catch mistakes let me know, I'm the only one who looks these over so I am likely to miss some things especially if the chapters get long.


End file.
